A new “green revolution”, more access to agricultural markets, research on seeds and the introduction of new varieties are some of the recipes proposed by the macro-millionaire destined to the micro-poor.

The Meeting of AGRA which took place in Nigeria – a country impoverished in its hydrocarbon resources and also “slaved” through trade agreements with the European Union- allowed tens of civil organizations to expose false solutions and propose political ways to dignify peasant agriculture.

The alternative meeting “AGRA, Land Grabs and Non-Ecological Agriculture” took place from October 20-23 in Abuja, capital city of Nigeria.

Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoE Nigeria) organized these activities.

Friends of the Earth International, through the campaign on Food Sovereignty, together with tens of civil organizations, journalists, development experts and representatives of consumer rights organizations proposed alternatives to the false solutions of AGRA to African authorities.

In his opening words, ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey said that AGRA, and the GMO/Agrofuels initiatives promoted by big agribusinesses only aim at eroding Africa’s traditional systems of farming and to contaminate indigenous seeds in favour of engineered varieties.

Real World Radio interviewed Wale Obayanju, member of ERA, who explained the situation of African countries in terms of their increasing dependence on agriculture

The conference in Abuja also dealt with what he referred to as a “new form of colonialism driven by agribusinesses” which has been “unleashed on the African continent and that threatens livelihoods, ecological balance and portends new forms of resource conflicts on the continent.”

Let´s share the second part of the interview with Wale Obayanju about the role of native seeds in a program of family and peasant agriculture consolidation.

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