Rockefeller Foundation Supports BRAC to Empower Smallholder Farmers Across Asia and Africa

Through the 300,000 USD grant, BRAC will develop a program that aims to empower three million women smallholder farmers across Bangladesh, Liberia, Tanzania, and Uganda to lift themselves and their families out of vulnerability by 2030.

BANGKOK, July 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In a significant move to deliver results for communities susceptible to increasingly erratic weather, The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a $300,000 grant to BRAC to support the development and launch of an initiative to empower three million smallholder farmers across Bangladesh, Liberia, Tanzania, and Uganda to lift themselves and their families out of vulnerability by 2030.

“Smallholder farmers are on the frontlines of so many challenges, including the impact of climate change,” said Deepali Khanna, Head of Asia, The Rockefeller Foundation. “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.” 

Piloting first in Bangladesh’s coastal and drought-prone regions, this initiative will offer farmers a comprehensive bundle of services including access to agricultural technologies, real-time climate and weather information, financial services such as adaptive insurance, and strengthened market linkages. Lessons learned will help guide the scaling of the model to African nations where BRAC already operates.

“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.”

The initiative adopts a bottom-up, community-led approach, emphasizing local ownership, cultural relevance, and long-term sustainability. With rising salinity, erratic rainfall, and resource degradation increasingly threatening rural livelihoods, BRAC’s initiative offers timely, holistic solutions grounded in both data-driven insights and local knowledge.

The Rockefeller Foundation’s support reflects its broader vision to expand economic opportunities by investing in community-led, scalable innovations. BRAC aims to raise $300 million in funding for this initiative that will enable transformative change for approximately 14 million people.

About BRAC
BRAC is an international development organization founded in Bangladesh in 1972 that has partnered with over 145 million people living with inequality and poverty to create opportunities to realize human potential. BRAC is known for its community-led, holistic approach and delivering long-term impact at scale. BRAC works with communities in marginalized situations, hard-to-reach areas and post-disaster settings across Asia and Africa, with a particular focus on women and children. BRAC operates as a solutions ecosystem, including social development programs, social enterprises, humanitarian response, a bank and a university. BRAC is born and proven in the South, has become a world leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programs, and has been recognized as the number one development organization in the world for multiple consecutive years by Geneva-based independent media organization, thedotgood.

About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.