Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Mariam Almheiri, head of International Affairs at the UAE Presidential Court, explored the future of agricultural technology at an event showcasing artificial intelligence-powered solutions for the industry.
The event, held on Wednesday at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, aimed to build on the $200 million partnership announced during the Cop28 climate change summit in December 2023, when the UAE and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed to accelerating agricultural innovations aimed at tackling threats to food systems. The investment has supported efforts to help smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia build resilience against climate change.
The collaboration highlights the urgency of addressing food security and climate adaptation for vulnerable farming communities, focusing on scaling solutions through organisations such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global partnership focused on improving food security. It also seeks innovative solutions for small-scale farmers, particularly in developing countries.
Among the standout innovations presented was a project to tackle the destructive red palm weevil. The pest causes annual losses of $2 billion in 49 countries, said Tarifa Al Zaabi, director general at the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture.
A consortium involving the UAE, the Gates Foundation, the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas and CGIAR is being formed to assess the weevil's effect on the global and regional economy and environment.
"The red palm weevil is a global challenge," Ms Al Zaabi told The National. The insect can destroy a healthy 40-year-old date palm tree in six months, she added.
"It has been affecting many date palm trees and oil trees worldwide. We're talking about 49 countries and 35 million trees affected," he said.
She emphasised the need for a comprehensive solution to manage and eradicate the pest. "We're looking at a consortium that will bring together national efforts, local collaborators and international organisations to work on a solution."
As part of the red palm weevil project, advanced technology such as gel traps, drones for early detection and other pest-management systems are being explored. "For example, we use drones to identify infected date palms, which allows us to target the areas most in need of intervention."
This effort will help control the spread of the red palm weevil, which can ruin entire palm tree populations within months.
More than two million palms in Abu Dhabi have been treated for infestation by pests such as the red palm weevil and stem borer since the beginning of the year, state news agency Wam reported. The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority has used pheromone and light traps to attract and control pests, and limit their spread.
LLM for agriculture
Another project showcased was AgriLLM, which focuses on fine-tuning the open-source Falcon large language model to improve agricultural research and development knowledge.
AgriLLM aims to synthesise complex agricultural research into accessible, actionable insights for farmers and extension workers.
"We're tackling the big challenge of advisory services to smallholder farmers, who are the most vulnerable to climate change in low and middle-income countries," Kholoud Odeh, chief digital transformation officer at CGIAR, told The National.
Ms Odeh said the goal of AgriLLM is to bridge the gap between research and farmers' practical application of that knowledge.
"We want to fine-tune models like Falcon with tailored agricultural content to provide real-time, relevant advice on pest control, weather forecasting and other challenges farmers are facing," Ms Odeh said.
She said the Falcon model, developed by the Technology Innovation Institute, Abu Dhabi's government-backed research centre, can transform agricultural knowledge into actionable and accessible insights for farmers globally when fine-tuned with relevant data.
Ms Odeh highlighted the significance of AgriLLM in addressing a critical challenge: the scarcity of agricultural advisory services.
"In many countries, one agent is tasked with helping thousands of farmers, and with climate change bringing new pests and diseases, farmers need immediate access to information," she said.
Through collaborations with the Gates Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, AgriLLM will provide farmers with AI-driven insights to improve productivity and sustainability. "We want to ensure no farmer is left behind as AI technology evolves," Ms Odeh added.
These projects reflect a broader movement to harness AI and advanced technology to solve pressing global agricultural challenges, from combating pests such as the red palm weevil to improving the flow of agricultural knowledge for farmers worldwide.
