- In response to queries about AGRA’s late involvement, a county official said AGRA, like the other partners is supporting the policy by facilitating workshops and capacity building for county staff.
- In Kenya, AGRA’s undue influence is most visible at the local level where it has infiltrated farmer-led efforts to develop alternatives to the green revolution model, the study reveals.
Image: HANDOUT
A new study by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) has revealed claims of extensive influence on agricultural policies across Africa by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
The report, "Pulling Back the Veil: AGRA’s Influence on Africa’s Agricultural Policies”, claims that its involvement in policy-making has continued to undermine efforts to promote sustainable, farmer-led ecological agriculture.
The study, which focuses on Kenya and Zambia, suggests that AGRA has shifted from its initial role of supporting farmers to a more strategic position of influencing agricultural policy across the continent.
The study shows that AGRA’s influence is reportedly pervasive at continental, national, and local levels.
"AGRA’s fingerprints are all over African agriculture policy, and represent an attack on African farmer sovereignty," said Million Belay, General Coordinator of AFSA, during a press conference on August 28.
In Kenya, AGRA’s undue influence is most visible at the local level, where it has reportedly infiltrated farmer-led efforts to develop alternatives to the green revolution model, the study reveals.
In Vihiga County, for example, AGRA's involvement in the agroecology policy-making process is alleged to have raised alarm after their entry at the tail end of the process in an undemocratic and less than transparent manner.
The county is currently formulating an agroecology policy aimed at improving soil health, enhancing food quality, and controlling the spread of invasive species on farmlands.
In response to queries about AGRA’s late involvement, a county official said AGRA, like the other partners, is supporting the policy by facilitating workshops and capacity building for county staff.
“AGRA has also funded meetings with Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) and is expected to print publicity materials for the upcoming public participation phase,” said the official.
Key components of the policy include organic farming and regenerative agriculture.
Ferdinand Wafula of Bio Gardening Innovations (BIOGI), which has been driving agroecology efforts in the region, expressed agroecology groups’ shock at the sudden appearance of FOLU, an AGRA affiliate, as a recognised stakeholder during the final stages of policy preparation.
“During our last technical meeting in preparation for the public participation of this policy, we were surprised to see FOLU appearing as one of the stakeholders being acknowledged," Wafula said.
He added: "This took many of us by surprise as they were hinted to have funded and supported top county officials’ capacity building on agroecology."
He also spoke of the shift in narrative and the insertion of terminologies that were not initially part of the Agroecology Policy, which was originally championed by BIOGI and other partners.
He remarked: “We see the appearance of ‘Climate-smart agrifood system’ in strategies on production and soil health, which raises our fears about what it entails.”
The study reports investigators observing a noticeable shift in the language used by county officials, who increasingly adopted terms like “climate-smart agriculture,” which aligns closely with AGRA’s agenda.
This shift has raised scepticism among other stakeholders regarding the authenticity of the county's commitment to agroecology.
Several partners, including Pelum Kenya, Bioversity International - CIAT, BIOGI, Seeds Savers Network (Kenya), and Rural Outreach Africa (ROA), are involved in the policy development process.
Despite joining the process late, AGRA managed to influence key county officials by funding and supporting capacity-building initiatives.
The preliminary report recommends that as AGRA continues to embed itself in policy processes across Africa, there is a need for critical examination and scrutiny of its actions to ensure that true agroecological principles are not compromised.
The report on AGRA’s extensive influence was released at a press conference in which faith-based groups released an open letter demanding reparations from the Gates Foundation (the main funder of AGRA) for “causing extensive damage to Africa’s food systems with its aggressive push for industrialised agriculture.”
In the open letter that was endorsed by hundreds of civil society and farmer groups coalescing around the Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute (SAFCEI), the leaders accused the Gates Foundation of continually fueling hunger and poverty in Africa by funding farming methods that are not able to protect smallholder farmers and the environment.
“The Green Revolution has not only failed to increase food security in Africa, but has also inflicted deep ecological and social wounds. As faith leaders, we have a responsibility as custodians of the Earth to call out this injustice.” pointed out Gabriel Manyangadze of SAFCEI.
The faith leaders decried monocultures in large fields at the expense of mixed cropping, a practice used by small-scale farmers in Africa for many years.
They noted that in the growing of a single crop, the projects use heavy machinery, large amounts of fossil fuels, commercial fertilisers and pesticides that destroy the environment.