The programme emphasises a community-led approach, ensuring it is culturally relevant and sustainable. (Image credit: Adobe Stock)

BRAC has received a US$300,000 grant from The Rockefeller Foundation to create a programme aimed at helping three million women smallholder farmers in Bangladesh, Liberia, Tanzania, and Uganda by 2030

This initiative targets vulnerable communities affected by climate change. It will first launch in Bangladesh's coastal and drought-prone areas, providing farmers with services like agricultural technology, weather forecasts, adaptive insurance, and better market connections.

Deepali Khanna, head of Asia, The Rockefeller Foundation, stated,“Smallholder farmers are on the frontline of so many challenges, including the impact of climate change. Through our support of BRAC, we are empowering smallholder farmers not only to withstand disruptions, but also to advance solutions that can help build the foundation for lasting economic opportunity.”

The programme emphasises a community-led approach, ensuring it is culturally relevant and sustainable. The aim is to equip communities with skills to build resilience against challenges like rising salinity and erratic rainfall. BRAC plans to raise an additional US$300mn for this program, intending to impact around 14 million people positively.

“At BRAC, we believe in equipping people and communities with the skills they need to build their own resilience,” said Asif Saleh, executive director of BRAC. The Rockefeller Foundation’s support takes an important step in showing that locally driven innovation, when scaled up, can unlock pathways for millions of people to do that.”

Liberia, China to mechanise agriculture. (Image source; Adobe Stock)

Chinese Ambassador to Liberia, Yin Chengwu, recently met with J Alexander Nuetah, Minister of Agriculture of Liberia

Chengwu emphasised the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators stand on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and expressed that China is willing to strengthen agricultural cooperation between the two countries, deepening the bilateral relations.

Nuetah said that Liberia is grateful to China for its strong support for Liberia's development and looks forward to continuing to strengthen cooperation with China on agricultural mechanisation and modernisation.

Yanmar’s YR Series rice transplanter conducts demonstration activities at the Smart Farm Showcase

Yanmar S.P. Co., Ltd. teamed up with Chia Tai Co., Ltd. and XAG Co., Ltd. for the opening of the 'Chia Tai Experience' at the Chia Tai Agricultural Center in Bang Nam Priao District, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand

The initiative is focused on improving Thai agriculture by giving farmers access to modern technology, practical know-how, and sustainable farming practices.

The Chia Tai Experience acts as a hands-on space where farmers can learn and try out new agricultural tools and techniques. Chia Tai has created a display showing rice farming methods suited for the region using its Crop Management Plan. This plan is designed to tackle common problems in local rice fields and introduce the idea of developing from 'Farmer to Professional Farmer.' XAG has set up a certified service area for agricultural drones, offering maintenance and support.

One of the main features of the event was a live demo of Yanmar’s YR Series rice transplanter, which took place at the Smart Farm Showcase. This area highlights how Yanmar’s technology is making rice farming more efficient.

This event follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Chia Tai, XAG, and Yanmar S.P. Co., Ltd. The signing was attended by Peng Bin, Founder and CEO of XAG; Manas Chiaravanond, CEO of Chia Tai; and Ryosuke Yamaguchi, President of Yanmar S.P. Co., Ltd. The agreement reflects a shared goal of using smart farming to help farmers grow better crops and improve their livelihoods.

President Ryosuke Yamaguchi said during the event, “At Yanmar, we believe that innovation in agriculture is crucial not only for increasing productivity but also for building sustainable futures for our farmers. Our collaboration with Chia Tai and XAG represents a unified effort to bring advanced technology directly to the fields, ensuring farmers thrive in an evolving industry.”

The Chia Tai Experience continues the joint work first seen during Yanmar’s 45th anniversary event held from 3 to 5 October, 2024, in Khon Kaen. At that event, Yanmar introduced the EF393T tractor and a new electric farming machine concept. The company also named Thai actor Nadech Kugimiya as its brand ambassador, highlighting its interest in promoting innovation and sustainability.

Together, Yanmar, Chia Tai, and XAG are working to support a shift toward smarter, more sustainable farming in Thailand, with a focus on real-world solutions that can benefit farmers across the country.

Generative AI models support the agricultural industry in their small molecule discovery process. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Computational biology company, Evogene Ltd has developed a generative AI foundation model, version 1.0, for small molecule design, in collaboration with Google Cloud

The new model expands on Evogene's ChemPass AI by identifying novel small molecules that meet multiple complex product criteria.

Generative AI models support the agricultural industry in their small molecule discovery process by enabling the simultaneous consideration of multiple complex product requirements, all while creating truly novel molecular structures. This allows the industry to access strong, defensible IP portfolios.

Ofer Haviv, president and CEO of Evogene, said, "Completing our foundation model is a major milestone in our offering. It unlocks new frontiers for ChemPass AI, giving us the power to generate wholly novel molecules—ones that not only perform but also create new IP space. This is key to overcoming long-standing challenges in life-science R&D: from reducing late-stage failure in pharma to developing ag-chemicals that are effective, sustainable, and proprietary."

Boaz Maoz, managing director, Google Cloud Israel, said, "We're pleased to collaborate with Evogene's innovation in AI-powered molecule design. Their progress with ChemPass AI highlights the strength of pairing advanced AI infrastructure with deep scientific insight. We look forward to seeing the impact of this new model in drug discovery and agriculture."