for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) will impact millions of the most impoverished people in the world — for good or for bad. We as Christians are deeply concerned about the persistence of poverty, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. So, below are some juicy resources to help get you up to speed. The analysis will also help with the background you need to understand other US policies that are being formulated to direct more agricultural aid for Africa. Read them, pick one to discuss with folks in your congregations, and check back here for future posts on AGRA, Feed the Future and related legislation.
Since this is being "imposed on Africa," it might be nice to let them have the first word —
Alliance
for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) – A New Green Revolution is
imposed on Africa by a collaborative effort between amongst others, the
Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations, the World Bank, and
agro-industries to replace Africa’s seeds, crops and knowledge with
hybrids, GMOs, fertilisers and pesticides. Because this industrial
system needs large tracts of land, AGRA is also funding the push to
change land tenure systems, privatise land and so facilitating the rapid
change of land from community custodianship to just another commodity
in the pockets of investors. The sheer amount of money and political
influence the Green Revolution push has behind it, is now dominating the
debate on agriculture, pushing for stricter intellectual property
rights on seeds, weak biosafety legislation, in the process narrowing
Africa’s options for food sovereignty both on country and local level.
(from Mount Kenya Declaration on the Global Crisis and Africa’s
Responsibility).
For starters, here is a recent editorial of sorts from Eric Holt-Gimenez - Monsanto in Gates' Clothing? The Emperor's New GMOs http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/308
Read Ending Africa’s Hunger by Raj Patel, Eric Holt-Gimenez and Annie Shattuck. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090921/patel_et_al
1) Voices From Africa
– African Farmers And Environmentalists Speak Out Against A New Green
Revolution In Africa. Edited by Anuradha Mittal with Melissa Moore.
Published March 2009. 40 pages [PDF] http://www.seattleglobaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/voicesfromafrica_full.pdf