Karachi, Pakistan, January 28, 2025 – Bayer Foundation and the Pula Foundation announced last week at World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that they are planning to provide insurance coverage for 10 million smallholder farmers working with national governments in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Mali, by 2030.
The collaboration aims to enhance climate resilience among smallholder farmers in these countries, protecting them against the growing impacts of droughts and floods, which threaten harvests, livelihoods, and global food security. It will help build private-public collaborations and shape the insurance market for agriculture in Africa and Asia.
By the end of 2030, Bayer Foundation’s grant for insurance premium support in the amount of 10 million euros – supported by a donation from Bayer’s Crop Science Division – will unlock a potential insurance coverage of 127 million U.S. dollars for 10 million farmers in the targeted countries. The grant originates from Bayer Foundation’s Social Innovation Ecosystem Fund which targets mature and high-impact solutions for underserved communities.
According to FAO, in 2023, around 2.33 billion people globally faced moderate or severe food insecurity. Smallholder farmers are on the front lines of combating food insecurity, producing more than half of the food consumed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet, they face severe constraints in their ability to serve their communities, including lack of climate change adaptation tools, lack of access to agricultural inputs and inadequate credit and insurance services.
“Bayer’s Crop Science division is committed to deliver innovative, farmer-focused solutions that drive sustainable growth and regenerative agriculture,” said Rodrigo Santos, President of Bayer’s Crop Science Division, “By unlocking climate finance and collaborating with partners like the Pula Foundation, we aim to deliver ecosystem-based approaches that empower smallholder farmers and their communities to overcome challenges and thrive.”
“Smallholder farmers in Pakistan face tremendous economic challenges in the face of climate disasters such as the 2022 monsoon floods that caused devastating crop and infrastructure losses,” added Ahmed Ali, Managing Director and CEO Bayer Pakistan, “We therefore appreciate and welcome this timely and relevant initiative by Bayer Foundation in collaboration with the Pula Foundation, to enable greater resilience for our smallholder farmers.”
Bayer aims to support a total of 100 million smallholder farmers in LMICs by 2030, by improving their access to agricultural products and services, thereby increasing their productivity and income, as well as by creating resilience to ensure long-term food security, in keeping with the company’s global mission, Health for All, Hunger for None.