Saturday, May 28, 2022
  • Login
Upgrade
The Southern African Times
  • Home
  • Southern Africa
  • Global
  • Business
    • African Start ups
    • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • Tech
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Culture
    • Food and Drink
    • Entertainment
  • SAT Jobs
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Southern Africa
  • Global
  • Business
    • African Start ups
    • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • Tech
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Culture
    • Food and Drink
    • Entertainment
  • SAT Jobs
No Result
View All Result
The Southern African Times
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Africa is not a monoculture, we reject the plan to make it one

by SAT Reporter
September 23, 2021
in Opinion
0
Africa is not a monoculture, we reject the plan to make it one
0
VIEWS

Organisers of this year’s African Green Revolution Forum claim the annual gathering that ended on September 10 provided a “single coordinated African voice” in advance of the upcoming United Nations Food Systems Summit. That voice sings the praises of capital-intensive technological innovation, with the host Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) playing conductor and trying to keep donors, governments, companies and UN agencies singing the same tune.

A very different choir, featuring a diverse range of voices, sang a very different song outside the virtual halls of the Forum. The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), representing some 200 million small-scale food producers in its continent-wide network, directly challenged AGRA’s claim to represent Africa.

Millions of African farmers, fisherfolk, Indigenous peoples, pastoralists, women’s networks, youth networks, consumer organisations, faith-based institutions, and other civil society organisations, gathered under the leadership of AFSA, sent a letter to AGRA donors on September 7 signed by 160 international organisations demanding an end to funding for failing Green Revolution projects.

We have spoken out about what we want from agriculture and life: food that is both healthful and nourishing and produced in a way that is not harmful to the environment and is culturally suitable.

In the West, everyone has a solution for Africa.

Philanthrocapitalists like Bill Gates, Western governments, aid organisations, embassies, colleges, corporations and certain members of our governments are pushing industrial agriculture on us. They are spending billions to sway governments and turn Africa into a dump site for agrochemicals, genetically modified organisms and outdated technology.

They propose a Green Revolution and point to India as an example of success. Yet the truth is that India’s Green Revolution was never the raging triumph that its proponents claimed, as ongoing farmer protests demonstrate. In India, the Green Revolution has primarily benefitted wealthy farmers, put millions of farmers into debt, degraded their environment, affected their health, and eroded their local seed production and culture. The Green Revolution there has been a colossal disaster.

The importation of this failing and destructive approach to food, agriculture and the environment into Africa must be challenged. And it has been challenged.

A wide range of African organisations has come together to demand change. In June the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) sent letters to AGRA donors asking for evidence of AGRA’s effectiveness in raising yields, incomes and food security. We received few responses and no evidence. Faith leaders also wrote to the Gates Foundation and got neither an acknowledgement nor a response.

There is a massive push under way, using the African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with AGRA and international donors, to modify the laws and regulations governing our seeds. The groundwork is being laid for corporate-led agriculture to thrive. This will breed dependency, deteriorate our health and the environment, undermine our culture and subjugate us to the will of a few.

We have had enough. Our struggle against the attempts to impose on us industrial agriculture will continue because we believe agroecology is a realistic strategy for improving our nutrition, increasing production, enhancing biodiversity, raising resilience and boosting farmer income.

The West has made very little investment in agroecology in Africa because the goal is to take Africa down the path of industrial agriculture. This must end.

As our open letter to AGRA donors notes, it is urgent to change course and turn to a development model based on truly sustainable practices, equity and justice.

I recently declined an invitation to speak at AGRA’s Green Revolution Forum. This is why:

We at AFSA disagree with the Green Revolution’s approach on a basic level. The strategy has indebted our farmers, ruined our environment, harmed our health and undermined our seeds and culture.

We object to the flurry of initiatives to amend our seed laws, biosafety standards, and institutionalise fertiliser rules and regulations that seek to entrench Africa’s overreliance on corporate agriculture.

That is why the diverse constituencies represented by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa are raising their voices outside the Green Revolution Forum. Africa is not a monoculture and we do not want it to become one.

Africa does not speak with a single voice, certainly not that of the Green Revolution Forum. Its diversity of voices is as rich as the diversity of the continent’s landscapes, cultures and food traditions. Those voices want to sing, not in monotones but in harmony, with one another, with nature, and with government leaders and donors who value that diversity and support it.


Dr Million Belay is the General Coordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).

Previous Post

Africa’s road to a carbon-neutral future

Next Post

General Saint the untold story of history

SAT Reporter

Related Posts

Ukraine conflict shows urgency of SDR reallocation for Africa
Opinion

Ukraine conflict shows urgency of SDR reallocation for Africa

by SAT Reporter
May 25, 2022
I’ve lived in Britain 22 years and have kids here – why am I being deported to Jamaica? Mark Nelson
Opinion

I’ve lived in Britain 22 years and have kids here – why am I being deported to Jamaica? Mark Nelson

by SAT Reporter
May 24, 2022
George W Bush is not funny
Opinion

George W Bush is not funny

by SAT Reporter
May 24, 2022
Biden Finally Realised He Can’t Ignore Cuba Any Longer
Opinion

Biden Finally Realised He Can’t Ignore Cuba Any Longer

by SAT Reporter
May 19, 2022
Towards an integrated and climate-resilient Africa and a just energy transition
Opinion

Towards an integrated and climate-resilient Africa and a just energy transition

by SAT Reporter
May 18, 2022
Next Post
General Saint the untold story of history

General Saint the untold story of history

Premium Content

West Indies’ golden T20I generation chase chance to cement legacy

West Indies’ golden T20I generation chase chance to cement legacy

October 18, 2021
African startups drew record $5.2 billion in venture capital last year

African startups drew record $5.2 billion in venture capital last year

April 20, 2022
Rich, developing nations wrangle over COVID vaccine patents

Rich, developing nations wrangle over COVID vaccine patents

March 11, 2021

Browse by Category

  • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • African Start ups
  • Algeria
  • Analysis
  • Angola
  • Asia
  • BOTSWANA
  • Botswana
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Business
  • Business
  • Cameroon
  • Central Africa
  • China
  • Climate Change
  • Climate Changev
  • Congo Republic
  • COVID 19
  • Culture
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Eastern Africa
  • Egypt
  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Ethiopia
  • Europe
  • Fashion
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Food and Drink
  • Foods
  • Ghana
  • Global
  • Guinea
  • Health
  • Immigration
  • in Southern Africa
  • International news
  • Just In
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Libya
  • Life Style
  • Lifestyle
  • Malawi
  • Malawi
  • Mali
  • Markets
  • Middle East
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • North Africa
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Rwanda
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Sports
  • Startup Africa
  • STOCK EXCHANGE
  • Tanzania
  • Tech
  • Togo
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda
  • Uncategorized
  • West Africa
  • World
  • World
  • ZAMBIA
  • Zambia
  • ZIMBABWE
  • Zimbabwe

Browse by Tags

African business news Africa New Africa News african footballer African investments African news African start-up Business Classic Climate change Content coronavirus Cyclone Idai Egypt Explore Bali Finance Foods football Health Hopewell Mauwa Life Style mali news Market Stories news Odion Ighalo Oilandgas Opinion Pandemic Politics Premium reserve bank of Zambia Russia soccer South Africa Southern African News sports Stay Home United Stated Vaccine Work From Home Wuhan Zambia Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Harare Manufacturing Africa Employment creationn Zimbabwe job creation

WHO WE ARE

The Southern African Times is a regional bloc digital newspaper that covers Southern African and the world news. The paper also gives a nuanced analysis on news and covers a wide range of reporting which include sports, entertainment, foreign affairs, arts and culture.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Rss

Copyright © 2022 The Southern African Times | Powered by The Southern African Times

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

  • Home
  • Southern Africa
  • Global
  • Business
    • African Start ups
    • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • Tech
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Culture
    • Food and Drink
    • Entertainment
  • SAT Jobs

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?