Who funds smallholder farming research?

We count 80 funded smallholder farming projects, active between 2017 and 2030, from 4 funders. The most came from Gates Foundation (70 projects), EU · Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (3 projects) and EU · ERC (2 projects). The median award is $2.2M, across the 79 of 80 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

80

Funders

4

Median award

$2.2M

Open calls now

0

Top funders of smallholder farming research

Projects whose title or summary mentions smallholder farming. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open smallholder farming funding calls

No open call mentions smallholder farming in our listings today. We add new calls twice a day; create a free account to get an alert when one opens.

Funded smallholder farming projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• Social Alpha — Agricultural Development
  Gates Foundation · $3,001,546 · ends 2030
• Haskè Conseil — Agricultural Development
  Gates Foundation · $3,997,667 · ends 2030
• The University of Edinburgh — Agricultural Development
  Gates Foundation · $2,426,471 · ends 2030
• THRIVE: Transforming Health, community Resilience, and Inclusion in Vulnerable Environments affected by extreme weather events – Shaping local policy and action to improve nutrition, mental health and well-being in Malawi
  Wellcome · £2,536,137 · ends 2029
• ReCLAIM: Reframing Ecological Land Evaluation in Zimbabwe: re-centering indigenous knowledge by participatory and cross-disciplinary research.
  UKRI · UKRI CRCRM · £1,062,519 · ends 2028
• Characterization of drought tolerance related mechanistic traits in sorghum related to water transport
  EU · MSCA · ends 2027
• Inclusive dialogue and exchange for smallholder climate preparedness and human wellbeing
  Wellcome · £190,909 · ends 2027
• (Sustainable) Strawberry Fields Forever: Harnessing plant volatiles and optimizing agricultural practices in the management of pathogens in a strawberry production system in Sibate, Colombia
  EU · MSCA · €202,583 · 2025–2027 · UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
• Transforming Pruning for Smallholder Agriculture with Enhanced Productivity and Working Conditions Using AR and Robotics.
  EU · Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment · €4,999,138 · 2025–2030 · FUNDACION TECNALIA RESEARCH & INNOVATION
• FAIR FOOD AND TRADE SYSTEMS FOR AFRICA THROUGH FOOD CONVERGENCE INNOVATION
  EU · Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment · €4,499,353 · 2024–2028 · INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “smallholder”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.