In the next few days, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa will hold its 12th Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, promising to take “bold actions for sustainable food systems. ” They are better because they are taking Africa in the wrong direction.
More unfortunately, the Green Revolution model made local agriculture dependent on imports, displacing hard-to-find dollars that could meet many other needs.
At the African Green Revolution Forum on September 5-9, government officials, corporate leaders, and international donors should not only shake hands but shake their heads over the lack of progress in solving the continent’s many crises. Agricultural production is down, farmers’ costs are rising for fertilizers that fail to produce results, and hunger is getting worse—not better.
Rising fertilizer prices have only exacerbated a food crisis made worse by Covid-19, conflict, and climate change.
I was hardly a voice. African civil society, farm, and faith leaders say the Green Revolution approach is doing more harm than good.
Yet neither AGRA nor its donors have heeded our call. On the contrary, they marched on, praising AGRA instead of demanding a change in tactics.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID), one of AGRA’s main funders, for example, quickly dismissed the critical findings of its own evaluation of donors that found little progress in productivity or food security, with most of the benefits going to wealthier male farmers. USAID said it sent a mission to Kenya and Ghana to consult with “stakeholders” but never spoke to my organization or anyone else on the record asking for the change.
USAID reported that they found no evidence of mismanagement that would prevent them from continuing the current funding. “AGRA’s extensive network of local, African partners supports the Agency’s localization goals,” USAID told a congressional committee, giving AGRA a ringing endorsement to continue with the disastrous model. in high-input.
Despite this anger among the major players in agriculture, however, the realities on the ground tell a very different and sad story. AGRA’s monoculture of corn and rice fed with synthetic fertilizers has degraded the soil and undermined the opportunity for African farmers to produce more diverse, healthy food that is less dependent on fossil-fuel inputs. This harms the local ecology, reduces agricultural productivity, degrades the soil, and exacerbates the hunger crisis.
More unfortunately, the Green Revolution model made local agriculture dependent on imports, displacing hard-to-find dollars that could meet many other needs.
The situation is likely to worsen, as the prices of synthetic fertilizers remain beyond the reach of the poor and small farmers.
Meanwhile, fertilizer giants around the world are feeding the hungry, making stratospheric profits from their exports to Africa. A new study by the German researcher Gideon Tups, which he prepared for the Berlin-based charity INKOTA, shows the company that profits from the prices of fertilizers that have increased significantly, in the case of Kenya in a factor six.
The report, published in German, says that compared to last year, the big fertilizer companies managed to increase their profits up to 70 times and, according to their own figures, “recouped their increased costs many times,” They are the runaway winners of the global food crisis.
AGRF, its donors, and African governments must act boldly to support sustainable agriculture that works with the environment, builds plant and food diversity, respects climate standards, and empowering marginalized farmers such as small farmers and women so they can support their families while growing food for a hungry continent. Africa has viable alternatives right here at home.
Farmer-run bio-input centers that need government support to expand.
Consistency is not achieved by doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The Green Revolution failed. I will be joining other community leaders on September 1 for a press conference to once again deliver the AGRF message. It is past time to change course.
