四项方案入选农业研究联合资助项目

中国国家自然科学基金委员会（以下简称“自然科学基金委”）和比尔及梅琳达·盖茨基金会（以下简称“盖茨基金会”）近期宣布四项研究方案入选双方共同发起的农业研究联合资助项目。该项目旨在支持科研人员开发创新解决方案，帮助低收入国家应对威胁农业生产的气候变化带来的相关挑战。这些入选方案来自国内多所高校、科研机构及其国际合作伙伴，他们将获得由自然科学基金委和盖茨基金会均等提供、总计不超过200万美元（或等值人民币）的资助。

此次联合资助项目是自然科学基金委2022年度可持续发展国际合作科学计划的一部分。该计划由自然科学基金委与包括盖茨基金会在内的多家国际伙伴机构联合发起，旨在推进联合国可持续发展目标的实现、促进各国科研人员的交流与合作，以共同开展面向全球挑战的科学研究。

气候变化是当前重要的全球挑战之一，并已经对农业造成严重影响，尤其是在撒哈拉以南非洲和南亚地区。盖茨基金会长期致力于支持撒哈拉以南非洲和南亚地区的小农户，帮助他们解决饥饿和贫困问题并促进性别平等。农业研究与创新是这项工作的重要基石。在这些地区，大多数人依靠小规模农业养家糊口，并且大部分女性都从事农业劳动。他们的生计对实现多个可持续发展目标至关重要，包括消除饥饿与贫困、为妇女和女童提供更多机会等。

中国在开发具有气候韧性的农产品和技术方面积累了丰富的经验和专业知识。为帮助农民适应气候变化，自然科学基金委和盖茨基金会此次合作重点资助两个领域的研究：气候智慧型作物育种技术和策略、天气指数保险。前者能帮助确保农民在高温、干旱和极端降雨的条件下依然保持收成稳定；后者作为一种新兴手段，利用多个数据来源制定天气指数的保险政策，帮助农民缓解由于极端天气带来的经济损失。

自4月项目宣布以来，双方共收到33份合格的项目申请。经过同行评议和专家会审，自然科学基金委和盖茨基金会最终共同宣布四项研究方案入选，两项针对气候智慧型作物育种技术和策略，两项针对天气指数保险。每项研究方案将获得自然科学基金委和盖茨基金会各自25万美元（或等值人民币）的资助，周期为自2023年1月1日起三年。

入选项目包括如下：

● 水稻穗粒数和抗倒伏基因克隆与高产抗旱种质创新。该项目旨在弥补非洲水稻的生产差距，找出并复制与有益性状相关的新基因，如更高的产量、抗旱性以及针对植物茎干弱化（又称“作物倒伏”）问题，同时改进育种技术。研究成果将为非洲水稻育种人员提供新的基因资源，并加速水稻的改良。

● 应对全球气候变化的玉米耐旱与耐热育种研究。该项目聚焦分子遗传解析与创新型育种材料或种质选育，确定玉米的耐旱和耐热特性。项目旨在搭建平台，以制定气候智慧型玉米育种策略，同时在迅速变化的气候条件下为玉米生产提供技术支持。

● 农业综合天气指数保险研究和实施。该项目计划解决与天气指数保险相关的现实问题，如农民需求不足、政策支持不力和市场供应有限，同时致力于为天气指数保险提供理论基础和政策建议。

● 咖啡天气指数保险产品设计、偏好分析与政策效果评价：中国与埃塞俄比亚的对比研究与实践。该项目通过在中国云南省和埃塞俄比亚西达摩（Sidamo）地区开展咖啡天气指数保险的案例对比研究，开发一套“设计科学、农户需要、有效利用公共资金”的模式，从而为更多发展中国家设计和开展农业天气指数保险项目提供知识与经验。

自然科学基金委也通过其官网（https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab1362/info88385.htm ）发布了审批结果通知。关于项目的更多信息，请点击此处（https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab442/info85200.htm）。

中国国家自然科学基金委员会是由科学技术部管理，依法管理国家自然科学基金，相对独立运行的机构。自然科学基金委将国际合作作为优先事项，致力于通过国际合作推动科研进步，为中国科学家营造有利氛围，在世界科学界发挥更大作用。

秉承所有生命价值平等的信念，比尔及梅琳达·盖茨基金会致力于帮助人们过上健康而富有成效的生活。在发展中国家，基金会主要致力于提高人民的健康水平，使他们有机会摆脱饥饿和极端贫困。在美国，基金会致力于确保所有人——特别是拥有资源最少的人——有机会在学习和生活中取得成功。基金会总部设在美国西雅图，在联席主席比尔·盖茨和梅琳达·弗兰奇·盖茨，以及理事会的指导下，由首席执行官马克·苏斯曼管理。

The joint program is part of the 2022 Sustainable Development International Cooperation Program (SDIC) launched by the NSFC with a broad set of international partners, including the Gates Foundation. The partnership will focus on promoting progress towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while supporting multi-national research collaborations that respond to global challenges.

That includes climate change, which has had a significant impact on agricultural production, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. At the Gates Foundation, agricultural research is a cornerstone of a long-term effort to fight hunger and poverty and support gender equality by investing in smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, vulnerable regions where most people depend on small-scale agriculture to support their families. Their success is critical for achieving a number of the SDGs, including commitments to ending hunger and poverty and expanding opportunities for women and girls, as most women in Africa and South Asia work in agriculture.

Given China’s considerable experience and expertise in developing climate-resilient agricultural products and techniques, the Gates Foundation initiated the joint program with the NSFC to fund research in two key areas to help farmers adapt to climate change: climate-smart crop breeding technologies and strategies, which help ensure farmers receive a healthy harvest in the midst of high temperatures, droughts, and extreme rainfall; and index-based weather insurance, a relatively new approach that uses different sources of data to help them mitigate economic losses caused by extreme weather.

Since announced in April, the program has received a total of 33 eligible proposals. After thorough peer and panel reviews, the NSFC and Gates Foundation jointly selected four research projects, two of which focus on climate-smart crop breeding technologies and strategies, while the other two examine the area of index-based weather insurance. Each winning project will receive up to $250,000 by the NSFC and $250,000 by the Gates Foundation and last for three years starting from January 1, 2023.

Project details are as follows:  

●Improving yield and drought-resistance in rice. The project aims to bridge the production gap of African rice by identifying and replicating new genes associated with beneficial traits—such as higher yields, drought-tolerance, and resistance to a problem that weakens plant stems known as “crop lodging”—while also improving breeding technology. The research results will provide new genetic resources for African rice breeders and accelerate the improvement of rice.

●Accelerating development of heat and drought-tolerant maize varieties. The project focuses on using molecular genetic analysis and new breeding materials or “germplasm” to identify drought and heat tolerance traits in maize. The goal is to establish a platform for developing climate-smart maize breeding strategies while providing technical support for maize production in the context of rapidly shifting climate conditions.

●Agricultural Weather Index Insurance Research and Implementation. The project will explore how China can support the development of agricultural weather index insurance that targets the needs of smallholder farmers. The project also intends to solve real-world problems associated with weather index insurance, such as lack of farmer demand, ineffective policy support and limited market supply. It also will work to provide a theoretical foundation and policy recommendations for weather index insurance.

● Coffee index insurance, farmer preference and policy impact: a comparative case study in China and Ethiopia. The project will conduct a comparative case study of coffee weather index insurance in Yunnan Province of China and Sidamo region of Ethiopia. The goal is to develop a model for agricultural index insurance projects that are backed by scientific evidence and farmer preferences and that efficiently use public funds. Eventually, it will provide knowledge and experience to help more developing countries design and implement agricultural index insurance programs.

NSFC also announced the program results on its website （https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab1362/info88385.htm ）. More information about the program can be found here（https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab442/info85200.htm）.

Tasked with the administration of the National Natural Science Fund from the Central Government, NSFC is an institution managed by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) but keeping its due independence in operation. International collaboration has become a priority for NSFC. NSFC aims to advance research through international collaborations and cultivate a favorable environment for Chinese scientists to play a greater role in the global scientific community.

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates and the board of trustees.