20/11/2024
By Bill Gates | November 19, 2024
I’m always on the lookout for inspiring individuals making a real difference in the world. Today, I want to introduce you to Dora Shimbwambwa, a plant researcher in Zambia who is using her expertise to help smallholder farmers thrive in the face of a changing climate.
Dora works tirelessly to develop new ways to combat destructive crop pests and diseases, including the fall armyworm that has ravaged maize crops across Africa in recent years. Climate change is making these crops more vulnerable—the fall armyworm, for example, thrives in the type of hot, dry conditions that Zambia is currently experiencing due to its worst drought in 40 years.
Rather than relying only on expensive or harmful pesticides, Dora is pioneering the use of natural biological controls like fungi that are better for the environment. Just as impressive, she makes a point to work directly with farmers, conducting trainings and field trials in rural communities to ensure her research translates to tangible impact on the ground. Perhaps most impressive of all, Dora does all this while keeping farmers’ hours—usually getting out of bed around 3 a.m., a habit she’s had since she was a young girl.
You can read more about Dora’s incredible work on Gates Notes now. She’s exactly the kind of hero the world needs more of: innovative, collaborative, and committed to improving lives in her community and country. I hope her story inspires you as much as it inspires me.
Thanks for being an Insider.
