US Vice President Harris recently traveled to a number of countries in Africa. Her aim: To encourage US investment to increase output, drive innovation and trade and counter China’s moves on the continent.
One topic Harris mentioned was “food security.”
For many in the US, this means increased investment in “green revolution” industrial agriculture techniques used in Europe, North America and other areas. These techniques have been put into practice in Africa through funding from foundations and other international organizations. In practice, these techniques can mean consolidation of land holdings, mechanization and increased chemical inputs—many of the changes the US government and others are trying to ameliorate in America.
Hundreds of civil society groups in Africa have called on foundations and governments to stop funding these initiatives.
According to these groups— “The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has unequivocally failed in its mission to increase productivity and incomes and reduce food insecurity, and has in fact harmed broader efforts to support African farmers.”
The full statement can be read here: https://africanarguments.org/2021/09/open-letter-the-green-revolution-in-africa-has-unequivocally-failed/
World Neighbors, a US-based NGO that helps family farmers increase agricultural output through sustainable techniques, is a signatory to the statement organized by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA). World Neighbors runs projects in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Mali. Chris Macoloo, World Neighbors Africa Regional Director and former AFSA Chair, could provide more details on what civil society groups think works in Africa and why a “green revolution” would reproduce many of the climate and other harms evident in other regions.
