On August 28, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) held a press conference revealing a new report detailing how AGRA (formerly the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) is using its power to shape agricultural policies across the continent. The report, titled “Pulling Back the Veil: AGRA’s Influence on Africa’s Agricultural Policies,” claims AGRA is promoting industrial farming methods harmful to local farmers through financial backing and by embedding consultants within government institutions.
This revelation supports a call from African faith leaders demanding reparations from AGRA’s main funder, the Gates Foundation, just ahead of the ‘Africa Food Systems Forum’ in Kigali, Rwanda, from September 2-6. Faith leaders argue that AGRA’s policies prioritize profits over the well-being of African communities.
“Green Revolution is a disguise for modern colonization, promoting Northern capitalist interests to control African food systems and resources,” said Sarah Haloba of the Zambian Governance Foundation.
Critics argue that AGRA undermines local efforts to promote agroecology, a sustainable farming approach. In Kenya’s Vihiga County, AGRA affiliate Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) was accused of altering a regional agroecology policy at the final stages, inserting industrial terms like “climate-smart” agriculture.
“We can’t trust AGRA, the agent of industrial agriculture, to lead agroecology,” said Ferdinand Wafula, founder of Bio Gardening Innovations (BIOGI).
AGRA’s influence also extends to continental policy through its involvement in the African Union’s Post-Malabo process, which seeks to shape Africa’s next decade of agricultural development. AGRA funded a key policy meeting in Lusaka, which critics say was dominated by Western interests, overshadowing African farmers and grassroots voices.
The report by the African Centre for Biodiversity highlights the crisis in Zambia, where 6 million households face hunger after maize production fell 50% due to drought. It blames AGRA-backed policies that push monoculture and synthetic fertilizers, which degrade soil and increase vulnerability to climate change.
“Farmers like me have been forced into monoculture, making us dependent on inputs and vulnerable,” said Mary Sakala, chairperson of Zambia’s Rural Women’s Assembly.
Despite these negative impacts, Zambia’s government continues to follow AGRA’s model, potentially adopting policies that further erode farmer independence, such as UPOV standards, which protect corporate seed varieties over traditional seeds.
Faith leaders from the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) have written to the Gates Foundation, calling for reparations for the damage caused by AGRA’s push for industrial agriculture. They urge the Foundation to shift its focus toward supporting agroecology and locally driven solutions, such as organic farming, participatory research, and community seed banks.
“AGRA and its backers are false prophets of food security. They promote industrial farming that harms our environment, soil, and biodiversity while putting corporate profits ahead of people,” said Bishop Takalani Isaac Mufamadi of SAFCEI.
AFSA is calling on all stakeholders to resist corporate-driven agricultural models that prioritize profits over the needs of African farmers. They stress that Africa’s agricultural future must be shaped by those who work the land, with policies that reflect local needs.
For more information, contact:
– Kirubel Tadele, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa: kirubel.tadele@afsafrica.org
– Josh To, A Growing Culture: josh@agrowingculture.org
– Ferdinand Wafula, Bio Gardening Innovations: biogardeninginnov@yahoo.com
– Gabriel Manyangadze, Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute: gabriel@safcei.org.za
The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is Africa’s largest civil society movement, representing diverse groups including farmers, indigenous people, and women’s movements across 50 countries. They work to promote food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture across the continent.
