Gates Foundation $7M backs Rainbow Crops platform to boost drought resilience in global staple crops

The Gates Foundation has announced a $7M grant to Rainbow Crops in Belgium to develop climate-resilient crops for heat and drought conditions. The grant will fund application of the company’s Trait Foundry platform—integrating genome editing, AI, and breeding—to improve germination and early growth in corn, sorghum, and rice. In collaboration with VIB partners, a nonprofit science research institute in Flanders, the project targets smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, generating genetic data and materials for breeding programs and advancing multi-trait crop resilience research.