Ahead of the annual African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), African civil society, faith groups and farmer leaders held a press conference on September 1 calling for an end to the failed Green Revolution. Speakers highlighted how the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has pushed a development model that reinforces dependency on foreign inputs, such as expensive fertilizer, undermining the resilience of African food systems.
“We are calling upon all the funders to please stop funding AGRA. Redirect your funding towards systems that enable people to have their dignity, for all creation to have an equal chance to live, where there are no chemicals in our water, in our ground, and in our food.” —Gabriel Manyangadze, Climate Justice Coordinator at SAFCEI
Gabriel Manyangadze of Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) said, “Traditionally, Chiefs were supposed to cater to the food needs of the widowed and the orphaned. The current industrial system not only inhibits small-scale productivity but also takes away the land that is both the home and the livelihood of the African smallholder farmer.”
Ferdinand Wafula of Bio-Gardening Innovations said, “Food is critical for human survival. We must stop poisoning our food and our soil. Our survival depends on how we care for the soil and pass it on to future generations.”
Leonida Odongo of Haki Nawiri Afrika said, “We are suffering from multiple crises – climate, COVID, war in Europe – all created outside Africa. Droughts destroy our harvests, staple food imports are disrupted, fertiliser prices have trebled. Meanwhile the disaster capitalists are circling overhead, planning their next feast. How is it possible that Africa, so rich in natural resources, is dependent on others to feed ourselves? When are we going to break free of these neo-colonial chains and take control of our own destiny?”
“We have the expertise. The best people to solve problems in Africa are people from the continent itself. We need afrocentric solutions. Our big question as African people is why should our problems be solved by entities outside the continent?”
