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Critiques of Gates Foundation's agricultural interventions in Africa · U.S. Right to Know articles

The Gates Foundation is a major influencer and funder of agricultural development in Africa, yet there are no meaningful avenues to hold it accountable to the communities it affects. The foundation is the main funder of the controversial AGRA program (formerly the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa). <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/gates-funded-green-revolution-in-africa-has-failed-critics-say/">AGRA rebranded</a> in 2022 after evidence-based critiques — including <a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates/gates-foundation-agriculture-project-in-africa-flunks-review/">its own internal review</a> — found that AGRA's 15-year effort to expand industrial agriculture in Africa failed to deliver food security, despite <a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates/agra-donors/">billions in aid</a> from private donors and government subsidies. Critics, including many Africa-based groups and faith leaders, say the "green revolution" approach — expanding chemical-intensive, monoculture farming geared toward export-oriented commodity crops — is exacerbating hunger, worsening inequality and entrenching corporate power in the hungriest regions of the world. This fact sheet links to research and news articles documenting these concerns. See more of our reporting on <a href="https://usrtk.org/category/bill-gates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Gates's influence on food systems</a>.Table of contents (drop links) <a href="#GatesAgNews">Gates Foundation food-related news</a> <a href="#AfricanOpposition">Opposition from African groups</a> <a href="#GatesAgFunding">How Gates Foundation spends its agricultural development funds</a> <a href="#GreenRevolutionCritiques">Opposition to the Green Revolution for Africa</a> <a href="#GMOsGlobalSouth">GMOs in the Global South</a> <a href="#GatesMediaInfluence">Gates Foundation's media influence</a> <a href="#MoreGatesNews">More Gates Foundation food news</a> <a href="#USRTKreporting">Reporting from U.S. Right to Know</a><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-the-main-critiques-of-gates-foundation-s-agricultural-program">What are the main critiques of Gates Foundation's agricultural program?</h2>The Gates Foundation’s flagship agricultural program, AGRA, works to transition farmers away from traditional seeds and crops to patented seeds, fossil-fuel based fertilizers and other inputs to grow commodity crops for the global market. The foundation says its <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2008/01/$306-Million-Commitment-to-Agricultural-Development">goal is to</a> “boost the yields and incomes of millions of small farmers in Africa… so they can lift themselves and their families out of hunger and poverty.” The strategy is <a href="https://foodfirst.org/publication/ten-reasons-why-the-rockefeller-and-the-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundations-alliance-for-another-green-revolution-will-not-solve-the-problems-of-poverty-and-hunger-in-sub-saharan-africa/">modeled on</a> the Indian “green revolution” that boosted production of some staple crops but left a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/farm-protests-in-india-are-writing-the-green-revolutions-obituary/">legacy of harm</a>, including <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7611098/">ecological damage</a>, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-struggle-to-save-heirloom-rice-in-india/?_gl=1*sk5uta*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTQyNzEyMjY1My4xNzY0NjIwMjE2*_ga_0P6ZGEWQVE*czE3NjQ2MjAyMTUkbzEkZzAkdDE3NjQ2MjAyMTUkajYwJGwwJGgw">biodiversity loss</a>, <a href="https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/india-support-for-farmers-protest-against-farm-laws-benefit-corporates/article33320334.ece#!">escalating debt for farmers</a>, and increased <a href="https://www.etcgroup.org/news/7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corporate control</a> over food systems.Several <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00219096211019063">independent</a> <a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/gdae/files/2020/07/20-01_Wise_FailureToYield.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research reports</a> <a href="https://www.rosalux.de/publikation/id/44425" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provide evidence</a> that Gates-led agricultural interventions in Africa have <a href="https://theecologist.org/2020/aug/14/gates-failing-green-revolution-africa">failed to help small farmers</a> and are contributing <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/08/address-malnutrition-food-insecurity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worsening hunger and malnutrition</a> in Southern Africa, where hunger and malnutrition have <a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates/un-hunger-report-food-summit/">continued to worsen</a>. The Gates Foundation has not responded to requests for interviews and has remained silent on most of these critiques."Gates Foundation’s support for the expansion of intensive industrial scale agriculture is deepening the humanitarian crisis."The Gates Foundation's agricultural interventions in Africa have "harmed grassroots and small-scale farmers, displaced communities, degraded ecosystems and farmland," said the multi-faith Southern African Faith Communities and Environment Institute in a <a href="https://safcei.org/open-letter-african-faith-communities-call-on-gates-foundation-stop-pushing-industrial-agriculture/">2021 letter to the foundation.</a> "Instead of reducing hunger, FAO data shows hunger in Africa has <a href="https://www.iatp.org/documents/alliance-green-revolution-africa-still-failing-africas-farmers">risen by 31%</a>. This isn't just policy failure, it's injustice, and African Faith Leaders are saying enough."The Gates Foundation "failed to provide an appropriate response" to these concerns, the group said, and in 2024 they organized a <a href="https://safcei.vercel.app/uploads/gates-sign-on-letter-2025.pdf">second open letter</a> to the foundation signed by <a href="https://safcei.org/over-600-african-faith-leaders-demand-reparations-from-the-gates-foundation/">over 600 African faith leaders,</a> "demanding reparations for the ecological and social harm caused by industrial agriculture and urging a just transition toward agroecology." Against this backdrop, agribusinesses and private donors, including Gates Foundation, are staging what food security experts describe as a power play to increase corporate control over food systems at the United Nations. This includes efforts to <a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/pages/OneGGIAR">centralize control over</a> agricultural research centers and <a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/_img/upload/files/GovBrief.pdf">increase industry influence</a> in food system governance structures. Hundreds of groups <a href="https://www.csm4cfs.org/hundreds-of-grassroots-organizations-to-oppose-the-un-food-systems-summit/">boycotted</a> recent UN Food Systems Summit over these concerns.This is "a <a href="https://www.foodpolitics.com/2021/07/the-un-summit-on-food-systems-2-the-critique/">high-stakes battle</a> over different visions of what constitutes legitimate science and relevant knowledge for food systems," says the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="GatesAgNews">Recent Gates Foundation food-related news</h2><li><a href="https://apnews.com/article/kenya-seed-sharing-law-ruling-ad4df5a364299b3a9f8515c0f52d5f80">Kenyan court declares law banning seed sharing unconstitutional.</a> By Evelyne Musambi, Associated Press (11.28.25) </li><li><a href="https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2025-11-05-african-faith-leaders-demand-reparations-from-gates-foundation-over-industrial-farming-harm/">African faith leaders demand reparations from Gates Foundation over industrial farming harm</a>. By Sheree Bega, Mail & Guardian (11.5.2025) </li><li><a href="https://grain.org/en/article/7317-who-rules-the-roost-corporate-vs-community-poultry-in-africa">Who rules the roost? Corporate vs community poultry in Africa</a>. GRAIN report (10.20.2025)</li><li><a href="https://timschwab.substack.com/p/why-is-gates-giving-600-million-to">Why is Gates giving $600 million to China?</a> By Tim Schwab, Substack (9.23.2025)</li><li><a href="https://nation.africa/africa/opinion/hungry-for-change-not-agra-s-green-revolution-5166284">Hungry for change, not AGRA’s green revolution</a>. By Timothy A. Wise, The Nation Africa (8.25.25)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Gates-Foundation-20-yrs-of-philanthrocapitalism-in-Africa_Nexus.pdf">Gates Foundation: Twenty years of philanthrocapitalism in Africa</a>. By Éric Tariant, Nexus Magazine (September/October 2025) and <a href="https://boutique.nexus.fr/numero-papier/791-n-160-sept-oct-2025.html">original in French</a></li><li><a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/feature/bill-gates-kenya-armin-rosen">Unnatural Immunity: What, exactly, is Bill Gates doing in Africa?</a> By Armin Rosen, The Tablet (6.9.25)</li><li><a href="https://timschwab.substack.com/p/bill-gates-says-he-wont-die-a-rich?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email">Bill Gates says he won't die a rich man. Don't believe him</a>. By Tim Schwab, Substack (5.8.25)</li><li><a href="https://continent.substack.com/p/bill-gates-big-agriculture-and-the">Bill Gates, Big Agriculture and the fight for the future of Africa’s farmland</a>. By Simon Allison. The Continent (8.31.24)</li><li><a href="https://countercurrents.org/2025/05/revolution-from-the-soil-anti-imperialism-and-food-sovereignty-in-burkina-faso/">Revolution from the Soil:</a> Food Sovereignty in Burkina Faso. By Colin Todhunter. Countercurrents (4.5.25) </li><li><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/health/activists-praise-court-ruling-against-gmos-call-for-alternative-farming-methods-4986948">Kenya court rules against GMOs, activists call for alternative farming methods</a>, by Hellen Shikanda, The Nation Africa (4.1.25) </li><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2025/apr/03/how-philanthropists-are-destroying-african-farms-video">How philanthropists are destroying African farms</a>, video documentary, The Guardian (April 2025)</li><h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-resources-for-reporters">Resources for reporters </h3><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPbXxEpM4tk">Global experts critique Bill Gates</a>, webinar and <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/17lqz-bSQBNhbC3HPPjvdBKFAPXdgqMK8iU6wHkfeY-I/edit?tab=t.0">resource list</a> of critiques about Gates Foundation's work in the areas of education, pharmaceuticals, public health and agricultural development (July 2025)</li><li><a href="https://afsafrica.org/press-release-agras-policy-influence-exposed/">AGRA’S policy influence exposed</a>; African faith leaders demand reparations from Gates Foundation, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2tZvByeyHs">Recording of press briefing</a> and <a href="https://afsafrica.org/pulling-back-the-veil-agras-influence-on-africas-agricultural-policies/">briefing paper</a> (September 2024)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/cornell-alliance-for-science/">Fact sheets about misinformation and inaccuracies</a> of the Gates Foundation-funded Alliance for Science (formerly Cornell Alliance for Science) and its <a href="https://usrtk.org/industry-pr/mark-lynas/">spokesperson Mark Lynas</a></li><li><a href="https://www.richappetitesfilm.com/">Rich Appetites: How billionaire philanthropists are shaping food and agriculture around the world</a>; five-part film series produced by AGRA Watch/Community Alliance for Global Justice</li><li><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bill-gates-should-stop-telling-africans-what-kind-of-agriculture-africans-need1/">Bill Gates Should Stop Telling Africans What Kind of Agriculture Africans Need</a>, by Million Belay and Bridget Mugambe, Scientific American (2021)<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bill-gates-should-stop-telling-africans-what-kind-of-agriculture-africans-need1/"> </a></li><li><a href="https://navdanyainternational.org/publications/gates-to-a-global-empire/">Gates Global Empire over Seed, Food, Health, Knowledge and The Earth</a>: A Global Citizens’ Report. Navdanya International (2020)</li><li>GRAIN reports: <a href="https://grain.org/en/article/6690-how-the-gates-foundation-is-driving-the-food-system-in-the-wrong-direction">How the Gates Foundation is driving the food system in the wrong direction</a> (2021); <a href="https://grain.org/en/article/5064-how-does-the-gates-foundation-spend-its-money-to-feed-the-world">How does the Gates Foundation spend its money to feed the world</a> (2014) </li><li>Oakland Institute reports: <a href="https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/report/our-land-our-business/highest-bidder-takes-it-all">The World Bank’s Scheme to Privatize the Commons</a> (2019); <a href="https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/report/our-land-our-business/unholy-alliance">Five Western Donors Shape a Pro-Corporate Agenda for African Agriculture</a> (2016); <a href="https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/report/our-land-our-business/bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation">Bill Gates' Big Money Attempts to Rule African Agriculture</a> (2016); <a href="https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/report/voices-africa">African Farmers Speak Out Against a New Green Revolution in Africa</a>, Voices from Africa (2009)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/category/bill-gates/">More reporting from U.S. Right to Know</a> on Bill Gates and his foundation's food and agricultural interventions</li><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="AfricanOpposition">Why do African groups oppose Gates Foundation agricultural work in Africa?</h2>Food sovereignty and civil society groups, faith leaders, food system researchers, and farmer, labor and environmental organizations across Africa have raised concerns for many years about Gates Foundation’s agricultural development strategies for Africa, and the foundation's sway over public spending and government policies."They talk about transforming African agriculture but what they are doing is creating a market for themselves." <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/06/10/africa-says-i-cant-breathe-african-civil-society-perspective-systemic-racism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Million Belay, AFSA</a> In <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/publications?Publications%5B0%5D=tags%3AAGRA&Publications%5B1%5D=tags%3AGreen%20Revolution&Publications%5B2%5D=tags%3AGreen%20Revolution">dozens of reports since 2007</a>, the South Africa-based African Centre for Biodiversity has documented numerous problems with the Gates-led “green revolution” for Africa. These include <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/agras-scandalous-subsidisation-big-fertiliser-financial-and-agribusiness-corporations-africa">subsidy deals</a>, growing <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/expansion-commercial-seed-sector-sub-saharan-africa-major-players-key-issues-and-trends">corporate control of the seed sector</a>, expanding use of synthetic <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/political-economy-africas-burgeoning-chemical-fertiliser-rush">fertilizers and pesticides</a>, escalation to <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/more-poisoning-south-africas-staple-food-given-go-ahead-24-d-gm-maize-varieties-approved">more toxic pesticides</a> as pests develop resistance to genetically modified (GMO) seeds, <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/soil-fertility-agro-ecology-and-not-green-revolution-africa">soil degradation</a>, loss of <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/gmos-south-africa-23-years-failures-biodiversity-loss-and-escalating-hunger">biodiversity</a> and <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/agricultural-investment-activities-beira-corridor-mozambique-threats-and-opportunities-small-scale">negative impacts on small farmers</a>. The group and many others are calling for a transition to agroecological practices and policies that allow food sovereignty.African groups have also <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/23/gates-foundations-seed-agenda-africa-another-form-colonialism-warns-protesters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called out the neocolonial dynamics</a> of Gates Foundation funding for Africa. These critics say the foundation and other private donors, investors, agribusiness corporations and Western governments are <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/06/10/africa-says-i-cant-breathe-african-civil-society-perspective-systemic-racism">pushing a false narrative</a> that Africa’s farmers need to buy patented seeds and agrichemicals developed by Western corporations in order to produce enough food. They say African farmers and communities should decide how to shape Africa’s food systems. Despite their numerous public reports, statements and attempts to reach out to the Gates Foundation, these African groups say their concerns have gone unanswered by the foundation.<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reports-and-statements-from-african-groups">Reports and statements from African groups </h3><li><a href="https://www.newsghana.com.gh/african-food-sovereignty-podcast-features-kenya-gmo-debate/">African Food Sovereignty Podcast Features Kenya GMO Debate</a>. By Roger Agana, News Ghana (11.8.25) </li><li><a href="https://afsafrica.org/press-release-agras-policy-influence-exposed/">AGRA’S policy influence exposed</a> and African faith leaders demand reparations from Gates Foundation; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2tZvByeyHs">recording of press briefing</a>. See also <a href="https://afsafrica.org/pulling-back-the-veil-agras-influence-on-africas-agricultural-policies/">briefing paper</a> about AGRA's policy influence in Africa, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (8.28.24)</li><li><a href="https://safcei.vercel.app/uploads/gates-sign-on-letter-august-2024.docx.pdf">Open letter to the Gates Foundation</a>: African faith leaders demand reparations from the Gates Foundation, Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute (8.27.24)</li><li><a href="https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/sonst_publikationen/AGRA_Midterm_Review_EN.pdf">Development approach of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) fails again:</a> Civil society’s assessment of AGRA mid-term review of German-financed AGRA projects in Burkina Faso and Ghana. By Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Bread for the World, FIAN Germany, Forum Environment and Development and INKOTA (7.24.23)</li><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/11/10/open-letter-bill-gates-food-farming-and-africa">Open Letter to Bill Gates on Food, Farming, and Africa </a>from AGRA Watch and 50 organizations (11.10.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyBelIilnzU&ab_channel=Nation">Lobby groups of African civil society and farmers call for an end to failed Green Revolution,</a> press conference, AFSA (9.2.22)</li><li>AFSA <a href="https://afsafrica.org/afsas-first-letter-to-big-donors-to-stop-funding-the-alliance-for-a-green-revolution-in-africa/">letter to donors</a> of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (6.6.21)</li><li>200 Organisations Urge Donors To Scrap AGRA, AFSA <a href="https://afsafrica.org/press-release-200-organisations-urge-donors-to-scrap-agra/">press release</a> (9.6.21)</li><li>"Big farming is no solution for Africa," SAFECEI <a href="https://safcei.org/press-release-african-faith-communities-tell-gates-foundation-big-farming-is-no-solution-for-africa/">press release</a> (8.3.21)</li><li>“Stop Pushing Industrial Agriculture," SAFCEI <a href="https://safcei.org/open-letter-african-faith-communities-call-on-gates-foundation-stop-pushing-industrial-agriculture/">press release</a> (3.10.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.rosalux.de/en/publication/id/44425/a-sting-in-the-agra-tale?cHash=e867b2b4429a2a26f9ffc1133b20afb5">A Sting in the AGRA Tale: Independent expert evaluations confirm that AGRA has failed</a>, report by AFSA (Uganda), Association Monde Rural (Burkina Faso), et al. (7.21)</li><li><a href="https://afsafrica.org/african-civil-society-refuses-to-engage-with-unfss-without-radical-change/">African Civil Society Refuses To Engage With UN Food Systems Summit Without Radical Change</a>, AFSA press release (5.3.21). </li><li>AGRA President Dr. Agnes Kalibata <a href="https://afsafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/afsa-letter-on-the-food-systems-summit_25-may-2021-2.pdf">response</a> and AFSA <a href="https://afsafrica.org/afsa-responds-to-dr-agnes-kalibatas-letter-to-afsa/">response</a> (6.18.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/wandile-sihlobos-technocratic-support-gm-and-related-technology-misses-mark">Southern African civil society responds to false claims about GM benefits to food and nutrition security</a>, African Centre for Biodiversity statement (6.18.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE0s6SR2InK9h3SZ-EulIfx3uD8zKeYd7">Seed is Power video series</a> produced by AFSA. African farmers’ explain their concerns about patented hybrid and GMO seeds and the importance of seed sovereignty (6.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/harmonisation-seed-laws-africa-0">Harmonisation of seed laws in Africa,</a> Regional and continental integration under the auspices of the African Continental Seed Harmonisation initiative and the African Continental Free Trade Area, African Centre for Biodiversity report (5.17.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/bayer-breathing-life-gates-failed-gm-drought-tolerant-maize">Bayer breathing life into Gates’ failed GM drought tolerant maize</a>, African Centre for Biodiversity briefing paper (4.28.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ACB-Reaction-Regional-Dialogue-on-African-Food-Systems.pdf">African Center for Biodiversity Reaction to the Regional Dialogue on African Food Systems</a> (3.4.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Correspondence-BIBA-and-AGRA-accountability.pdf">African Organizations Demand Answers from AGRA</a>, BIBA Kenya, PELUM Zambia, HOMEF Nigeria letter to AGRA (7.7.20)</li><li><a href="https://homef.org/2020/08/12/homef-other-groups-and-individuals-call-on-african-governments-to-withdraw-from-agra/">Groups and individuals call on African governments to withdraw from AGRA,</a> Webinar with HOMEF, African Faith and Justice Network, Navdanya International (8.12.20)</li><li><a href="https://afsafrica.org/seeds-of-neo-colonialism-why-the-gmo-promoters-get-it-so-wrong-about-africa/">Seeds Of Neo-Colonialism: Why the GMO Promoters Get It So Wrong About Africa,</a> statement from Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (2018)</li><li><a href="https://webshop.inkota.de/node/1691">Golden bullet or bad bet? New dependencies on synthetic fertilisers and their impacts on the African continent</a>, INKOTA study (July 2022)</li><h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-related">Related </h3><li><a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/gdae/files/2020/07/20-01_Wise_FailureToYield.pdf">Failing Africa’s Farmers: An Impact Assessment of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa</a>, by Timothy A. Wise, Tufts Global Development and Environment Institute, July 2020</li><li><a href="https://grain.org/e/6882" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A fertiliser cartel holds the global food system hostage</a>, GRAIN, (9.1.22)</li><h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reporting-and-perspectives-on-african-food-systems">Reporting and perspectives on African food systems</h3><li><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/new-colonialist-food-economy/">The New Colonialist Food Economy:</a> How Bill Gates and agribusiness giants are throttling small farmers in Africa and the Global South, by Alexander Zaitchik, The Nation (9.18.23)</li><li><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/14/un_report_world_hunger" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">African perspective on the failures of the Gates Foundation's approach through AGRA</a>, Democracy Now interview with Million Belay and Raj Patel (7.14.23)</li><li><a href="https://soundcloud.com/africanowonline/africanow-aug-31-2022-africa-food-security-insecurity-in-an-age-of-planetary-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African Food Insecurity in Planetary Crisis</a>, Africa Now WPFW radio (8.31.22)</li><li><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/bold-action-for-resilient-food-systems-end-the-failing-green-revolution-3928148" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bold action for resilient food systems? End the failing Green Revolution</a>, by Anne Maina, Daily Nation (Kenya) (8.27.22)</li><li><a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/3509220-americas-green-revolution-is-failing-african-farmers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">America’s green revolution is failing African farmers</a>, by Francesca de Gasparis and Fletcher Harper, The Hill (5.11.22)</li><li><a href="https://mondediplo.com/2022/07/11africa">Africa: agribusiness or diversity?</a> Africa’s so-called green revolution means that many traditional crops are being replaced by intensive monocultures, without delivering the reduction in hunger it had promised, by Christelle Gérand, Le Monde Diplomatique (July 2022)</li><li><a href="https://www.devex.com/news/agra-has-failed-to-improve-africa-s-food-security-report-finds-102760" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AGRA has failed to improve Africa's food security, report finds</a>, by Rumbi Chakamba, Devex (3.2.22)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/gates-foundation-agriculture-project-in-africa-flunks-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gates Foundation agriculture project in Africa flunks review, </a> by Stacy Malkan, U.S. Right to Know (3.17.22)</li><li><a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-green-revolution-initiative-has-faltered-why-other-ways-must-be-found-167624" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Africa’s green revolution initiative has faltered: why other ways must befound</a>, by Timothy Wise, The Conversation(7.14.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/agra-donors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African groups want Gates Foundation, USAID to shift agricultural funding as hunger crisis worsens</a>, by Stacy Malkan, U.S. Right to Know (8.8.21)</li><li><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2021/09/africans-publicly-challenge-green-revolution-backers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Africans publicly challenge Green Revolution backers</a>, by Cecelia Heffron, Food Tank (9.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/section/fifth-estate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Industrial Agriculture Is No Solution for Africa</a>, by Francesca de Gasparis and Gabriel Manyangadze, Capital News Kenya (8.31.21)</li><li><a href="http://www.news.cn/english/2021-09/02/c_1310164804.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African lobby groups urge for investments in nature-based farming to overcome hunger</a>, Xinhua News Agency (9.2.21)</li><li><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2021/08/fiddling-nairobi-africa-goes-hungry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fiddling in Nairobi While Africa Goes Hungry</a>, by Timothy Wise, IPS News (8.31.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/agra-fails-to-deliver-on-promise-to-double-yields/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa ‘fails to deliver on promise to double yields</a> ’, by Inga Vesper, SciDevNet (8.20.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8JDgzsVc_U&t=4567s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Webinar: How the Gates Foundation Sponsors the Corporate Capture of Global Food Systems</a>, Community Alliance for Global Justice (9.19.21)</li><li><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2021/08/african-faith-leaders-call-on-the-bill-melinda-gates-foundation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African Faith Leaders Call on The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Drop African Green Revolution</a>, by Cecelia Heffron, Food Tank (8.4.21)</li><li><a href="https://furtherafrica.com/2021/08/04/african-faith-communities-plead-with-gates-foundation-to-stop-pushing-for-industrial-agriculture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African Faith Communities plead with Gates Foundation to stop pushing for industrial agriculture</a>, by Farmers Review Africa, Further Africa (8.4.21)</li><li><a href="https://genevasolutions.news/climate/whose-seeds-are-they-anyway-peasants-call-for-common-ownership">Whose seeds are they anyway? Peasants’ call for common ownership</a>, by Michelle Langrand, Geneva Solutions (7.9.21)</li><li><a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-07-history-farming-africa-clues-production.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tracing the history of farming across Africa gives clues to low production outputs</a>, by Henning Bjornlund, André F. Van Rooyen and Vibeke Bjornlund, The Conversation (7.6.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bill-gates-stop-telling-africans-what-kind-of-agriculture-africans-need/?previewid=0144FCCA-AADD-4DA3-A978B39874AD14D2">Bill Gates: Stop Telling Africans What Kind of Agriculture Africans Need</a>, by Million Belay and Bridget Mugambe. Scientific American (7.6.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Synthetic-Pesticide-Use-in-Africa-Impact-on-People-Animals-and-the-Environment/Wilson-Huber/p/book/9780367436773" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Synthetic Pesticide Use in Africa:Impact on People, Animals, and the Environment</a>, edited by Charles Wilson, Don Huger, CRC Press (7.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.theelephant.info/features/2021/05/07/how-biotechnologies-are-shaping-kenyas-food-ecosystem/">How Biotechnologies are Shaping Kenya’s Food Ecosystem</a>, by Daniel Maingi. The Elephant (5.7.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/locust-plague-hit-east-africa-pesticide-solution-may-have-dire-consequences">A locust plague hit East Africa. The pesticide solution may have dire consequences</a>. by Tristan McConnell, National Geographic (3.24.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/the-next-neocolonial-gold-rush-african-food-systems-are-the-new-oil-un-documents-say/">The next neocolonial gold rush? African food systems are the ‘new oil, ’ UN documents say</a>, by Stacy Malkan. U.S. Right to Know (3.9.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/faiths-institute-asks-gates-foundation-change-tactics-africa?fbclid=IwAR3Lfgpi8Y9kUggkjQly-QB5bfIoWyNJfauWdCoIr74yzwOLdDPRKVExZXs">Faiths institute asks Gates Foundation to change tactics in Africa</a> by Fredrick Nzwili, Catholic News Service (2.2021)</li><li><a href="https://navdanyainternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/THE-DYSTOPIA-OF-THE-GREEN-REVOLUTION-IN-AFRICA.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill & Melinda Gates: The Dystopia of the Green Revolution in Africa</a>, byNicoletta Dentico, Health Justice Programme, Society for International Development (10.20)</li><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/06/10/africa-says-i-cant-breathe-african-civil-society-perspective-systemic-racism">Africa Says "I Can't Breathe": An African Civil Society Perspective on Systemic Racism</a>, by Million Belay. Common Dreams, (7.10.20)</li><li><a id="GatesAgFunding"></a> <a href="https://archive.foodfirst.org/publication/ten-reasons-why-the-rockefeller-and-the-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundations-alliance-for-another-green-revolution-will-not-solve-the-problems-of-poverty-and-hunger-in-sub-saharan-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ten Reasons Why the Green Revolution Will Not Solve Poverty and Hunger in Africa</a>, by Eric Holt-Giménez, Miguel Altieri and Peter Rosset, Food First (2006)</li><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-does-gates-foundation-spend-agricultural-development-funds">How does Gates Foundation spend agricultural development funds?</h2>The Gates Foundation has spent nearly $6 billion on agricultural development programs as of 2022, with a primary focus on "transforming" African food systems. The Gates-funded AGRA defines agricultural transformation as aprocess by which farmers shift from highly diversified, subsistence-oriented production towards more specialized productionoriented towards the market or other systems of exchange, involving a greater reliance on input and output delivery systems and increased integration of agriculture with other sectors of the domestic and international economies.Several groups have analyzed the foundation’s agricultural development funding. The following themes emerge from that research. The Gates Foundation is primarily supporting: Researchers and groups in Northern wealthy countries, not farmers or groups in Africa. A <a href="https://grain.org/en/article/6690-how-the-gates-foundation-is-driving-the-food-system-in-the-wrong-direction">June 2021 analysis</a> of 1,130 Gates Foundation grants for agriculture since 2003 found the grants are “heavily skewed to technologies developed by research centres and corporations in the North for poor farmers in the South, completely ignoring the knowledge, technologies and biodiversity that these farmers already possess,” according to the GRAIN research group. Many of the grants were given to “groups that lobby on behalf of industrial farming and undermine alternatives,” GRAIN wrote.Pushing industrial agriculture: As many as 85% of Gates Foundation-funded agricultural research projects for Africa “were limited to supporting industrial agriculture and/or increasing its efficiency via targeted approaches,” according to a <a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/_img/upload/files/Money%20Flows_Full%20report.pdf">2020 report</a> by the International Panel of Experts on Food Systems. The foundation “looks for quick, tangible returns on investment, and thus favours targeted, technological solutions,” IPES said. Just 3% of Gates Foundation projects included elements of agroecological redesign.Shaping how agricultural research is conducted: The largest recipient of Gates agricultural grants is CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research), the world’s largest global agricultural research network. The Gates Foundation has donated over $1.3 billion to the influential research centers. In a <a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/pages/OneGGIAR">July 2020 letter,</a> IPES-Food raised concerns about Gates Foundation’s involvement in a “coercive” process to centralize control of the CGIAR research network into “One CGIAR” with a centralized board and new agenda setting powers. The reforms on the table “risk exacerbating power imbalances in global agricultural development,” IPES said.Expanding markets for commercial seeds and fertilizer: The second largest single recipient of Gates grant funding for agriculture is the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) with $638 million in grants to date. AGRA’s primary focus is increasing farmers’ access to commercial seeds and fertilizers that AGRA said would boost yields and lift small farmers out of poverty. This “green revolution” technology package of commercial seeds and agrichemicals is further supported by about $1 billion per year in subsidies from African governments, but evidence shows these <a href="https://theecologist.org/2020/aug/14/gates-failing-green-revolution-africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interventions have not delivered</a> the promised boost in yields or incomes (see “green revolution” section below).Influencing policy to remove barriers for agribusiness: The Gates Foundation is among the five top donors (along with the US, UK, Danish, and Dutch governments) of the World Bank’s <a href="https://eba.worldbank.org/">Enabling the Business of Agriculture</a> (EBA) program that guides policymaking for pro-business reforms in the agriculture sector. The Oakland Institute and GRAIN research group have produced several reports about efforts by the World Bank and its funders to strengthen private property and intellectual property rights, and promote large-scale land acquisitions that benefit private actors.<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reports-on-gates-foundation-funding-and-influence">Reports on Gates Foundation funding and influence</h3><li><a href="https://cagj.org/wp-content/uploads/Gates-grant-report.pdf">African Agricultural Development... for the US?</a> An analysis of the distribution of Gates Foundation grants. AGRA Watch/ Community Alliance for Global Justice, October 2022. Results are broadly consistent with two earlier reports ( <a href="https://grain.org/en/article/6690-how-the-gates-foundation-is-driving-the-food-system-in-the-wrong-direction">GRAIN 2021</a> and <a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/_img/upload/files/Money%20Flows_Full%20report.pdf">IPES 2020</a>) but uses a different methodology focusing specifically on grants earmarked for Africa and also including AGRA. The report concludes thatmost of the Foundation’s agricultural development grants: 1) go to the Global North, 2) focus on a handful of institutions, many of which were created and/or heavily influenced by the Gates Foundation itself, andratherthan to groups with strong roots in African communities 3) tend to support high-input, industrial models of agriculture."The Gates Foundation has funded very few projects focused on organic or agroecological approaches, but has funded numerous projects focused on 'sustainability, ' framed in a productivist and corporate-friendly way."</li><li>Gates Foundation <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xjg8JYU_TTa2q5VvY9Aob0o_SUOcecE6/view">grants for agriculture from 2003-2021</a></li><li>GRAIN <a href="https://www.grain.org/en/article/5064-how-does-the-gates-foundation-spend-its-money-to-feed-the-world">2014 analysis</a> on Gates Foundation spending</li><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/nov/04/bill-melinda-gates-foundation-grants-usa-uk-africa">Gates foundation spends bulk of agriculture grants in rich countries</a>, by John Vidal. The Guardian, November 3, 2014</li><li><a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20141105193804-4c8pi/?source=fiHeadlineStory">Gates Foundation refutes report it fails African farmers</a>, by Karrie Kehoe. Reuters, November 5, 2014</li><li><a href="https://navdanyainternational.org/publications/gates-to-a-global-empire/">Gates to a Global Empire over Seed, Food, Health, Knowledge …and the Earth</a>, Navdanya International reports from 20 authors from a broad range of groups describing Gates’ food and agriculture work, October 2020.</li><li><a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/_img/upload/files/Money%20Flows_Full%20report.pdf">Money Flows: What Is Holding Back Investment In Agroecological Research For Africa?</a> , International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems report, April 2020.</li><li><a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/pages/OneGGIAR">'One CGIAR' with two tiers of influence?</a> Open letter from IPES-Food on the plan to centralize CGIAR network, July 2020</li><li><a href="https://navdanyainternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CORPORATE-HIJACK-OF-RICE-SCIENCE.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BMG Foundation and IRRI: Corporate Hijack of Rice Science</a>, by Chito P. Medina, October 2020</li><li><a href="http://ourlandourbusiness.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Joint-Statement-Our-Land-Our-Business.pdf">Joint statement from groups</a> and <a href="https://ourlandourbusiness.org/category/updates/press-releases/">recent updates</a> on World Bank EBA programs</li><li><a href="https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/highest-bidder-takes-all-world-banks-scheme-privatize-commons">The Highest Bidder Takes It All: The World Bank’s Scheme to Privatize the Commons</a>, Oakland Institute, January 24, 2019</li><li><a href="https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/sites/oaklandinstitute.org/files/down-on-the-seed.pdf">Down on the Seed: The World Bank Enables Corporate Takeover of Seed</a>, Oakland Institute, January 2017</li><li><a href="https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/unholy-alliance-five-western-donors-shape-pro-corporate-agenda-african-agriculture">The Unholy Alliance, Five Western Donors Shape a Pro-Corporate Agenda for African Agriculture</a>, Oakland Institute, May 24, 2016</li><li><a href="https://www.globaljustice.org.uk/news/gates-foundation-dangerously-skewing-development-agenda-according-new-report/">Gates Foundation “dangerously skewing” development agenda according to new report</a>, Global Justice Now, January 2016</li><li><a href="https://grain.org/en/category/537-land">Reports about land grabs</a>, GRAIN, 2008 to 2021. </li><h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gates-foundation-perspectives">Gates Foundation perspectives </h3><li>Gates Foundation <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-growth-and-opportunity/agricultural-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> agricultural development program page</a></li><li><a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/climate-change-agriculture-africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How African farmers are adapting to climate change</a>, by Laura Birx, Gates Foundation, March 19, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/uncas-global-coalition-funds-cgiar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Coalition Promises More than $650 Million to Accelerate CGIAR Efforts to Help 300 Million Smallholder Farmers Adapt to Climate Change</a>, CGIAR press release, September 23, 2019</li><li><a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center/press-releases/2012/02/helping-poor-farmers-changes-needed-to-feed-1-billion-hungry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Helping Poor Farmers, Changes Needed to Feed 1 Billion Hungry, </a> Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2012<a id="GreenRevolutionCritiques"></a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12wwln-shah-t.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Green Revolution for Africa?</a> by David Rieff, New York Times Magazine, October 10, 2008</li><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-opposition-to-the-alliance-for-a-green-revolution-in-africa">Opposition to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa</h2>The Gates Foundation’s flagship program for changing African agriculture is the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The group works to encourage farmers to use hybrid seeds, fossil-fuel based fertilizers and agrichemicals to grow staple crops for the global market, with the goal of boosting yields and raising farmer incomes. AGRA promised to double yields and incomes for 30 million farming households by 2020. The deadline has passed (and the language since <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/gates-foundations-failing-green-revolution-in-africa-new-report/">removed from AGRA’s website</a> ) with no comprehensive reporting on progress. (In 2022, AGRA <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/gates-funded-green-revolution-in-africa-has-failed-critics-say/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said it had rebranded</a> to remove the words "green revolution" from its name and forum.)Independent assessments by <a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/gdae/files/2020/07/20-01_Wise_FailureToYield.pdf">Tufts Global Development and Environment Institute</a> and <a href="https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/Studien/False_Promises_AGRA_en.pdf">African and German groups</a> in 2020 provided evidence that AGRA had not delivered significant yield or income gains for small farmers, while hunger had grown by 30% across AGRA’s target countries during the AGRA years. AGRA <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Press-Statement-re-report-on-AGRA-final-7-11-20-1.pdf">disagreed with the research</a> but did not provide any data to rebut the findings.From the start, <a href="https://foodfirst.org/publication/ten-reasons-why-the-rockefeller-and-the-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundations-alliance-for-another-green-revolution-will-not-solve-the-problems-of-poverty-and-hunger-in-sub-saharan-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">food policy experts predicted</a> the green revolution for Africa would not solve hunger and poverty, because it ignored structural inequalities and the harsh lessons of the first green revolution in India. Over the past year, farmers in India have <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/farm-protests-in-india-are-writing-the-green-revolutions-obituary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched protests to oppose corporate control</a> of their food systems and deepening inequality.<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-independent-reports">Independent reports</h3><li><a href="https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/sonst_publikationen/AGRA_Midterm_Review_EN.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Déjà Vu: The development approach of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) fails again:</a> Civil society’s assessment of the mid-term review of German-financed AGRA projects in Burkina Faso and Ghana, report by Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Bread for the World, FIAN Germany, Forum Environment and Development and INKOTA-netzwerk, July 2023. </li><li><a href="https://www.rosalux.de/en/publication/id/44425/a-sting-in-the-agra-tale?cHash=e867b2b4429a2a26f9ffc1133b20afb5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Sting in the AGRA Tale: Independent expert evaluations confirm that the Alliance for a Green Revolution has failed, </a> report by Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (Uganda), Association Monde Rural (Burkina Faso), et al., July 2021</li><li><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00219096211019063">The Rhetoric and Farmers’ Lived Realities of the Green Revolution in Africa: Case Study of the Brong Ahafo Region in Ghana</a>, by James Boafo and Kristen Lyons. Journal of Asian and African Studies, May 2021</li><li> <a href="https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/images/Dossiers/Ernaehrungssouveraenitaet/AGRA_Hintergrundpapier_dt_20210603.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Interne Gutachten bestätigen: Die Allianz für eine Grüne Revolution ist gescheitert. Analyse der Anfang des Jahres 2021 veröffentlichten AGRA-eigenen Evaluierungen aus den Jahren 2019/2020</a>, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, et al, July 2021.</li><li><a href="https://www.rosalux.de/en/publication/id/44425/a-sting-in-the-agra-tale?cHash=e867b2b4429a2a26f9ffc1133b20afb5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Sting in the AGRA Tale:Independent expert evaluations confirm that the Alliance for a Green Revolution has failed, </a> report by Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (Uganda), Association Monde Rural (Burkina Faso), et al., July 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.timothyawise.com/New%20AGRA%20Reports%20Offer%20Little%20Evidence%20to%20Justify%20Continued%20Donor%20Support" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.timothyawise.com/New%2520AGRA%2520Reports%2520Offer%2520Little%2520Evidence%2520to%2520Justify%2520Continued%2520Donor%2520Support&source=gmail&ust=1628259869520000&usg=AFQjCNGAetlP7Thuo-x5Vq5B8pQj1PE22Q">New AGRA Reports Offer Little Evidence to Justify Continued Donor Support, </a> IATP Policy Brief, July 21, 2021.</li><li><a href="https://www.iatp.org/throwing-good-money-after-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.iatp.org/throwing-good-money-after-bad&source=gmail&ust=1628259869520000&usg=AFQjCNF6nousIWA6TwadoBvYfLrrC4Z8qA">Throwing Good Money After Bad: Failing Green Revolution program readying billion-dollar fund drive</a>, by Timothy A. Wise, IATP, July 1, 2021.</li><li><a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/202102/agra-update-withheld-internal-documents-reveal-no-progress-africas-farmers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AGRA Update: Withheld internal documents reveal no progress for Africa’s farmers</a>, IATP, February 25, 2021</li><li><a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/gdae/files/2021/02/21-01Wise_OldFertilizer.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Old Fertilizer in New Bottles: Selling the Past as Innovation in Africa’s Green Revolution</a>, by Timothy A. Wise, Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute, Feb. 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/world-development/editors-choice/microsoft-managing-a-green-revolution-for-africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Micro(soft) managing a ‘green revolution’ for Africa: The new donor culture and international agricultural development</a>, by Rachel Schurman, World Development, October 2018</li><li><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274379137_Alliance_for_a_Green_Revolution_in_Africa_AGRA_Laying_the_groundwork_for_the_commercialisation_of_African_Agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA): Laying the groundwork for the commercialisation of African Agriculture</a>, by Stephen Greenberg, African Centre for Biodiversity, October 2012.</li><h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-agra-perspectives-and-reports">AGRA perspectives and reports</h3><li><a href="https://agra.org/resource-library/annual-reports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nurturing Change Across Africa</a>, AGRA 2020 annual report, July 9, 2021</li><li><a href="https://agra.org/agra-emerging-results-2017-to-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AGRA Emerging Results 2017 – 2020, </a> July 9, 2021</li><li>AGRA <a href="https://agra.org/resource-library/annual-reports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">annual reports 2007-2020</a></li><li> <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/12/choice-opportunity-african-farmers-will-transform-africa/">Choice and Opportunity for African Farmers Will Transform Africa</a>, by AGRA President Agnes Kalibata, IPSNews, December 7, 2020</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Correspondence-BIBA-and-AGRA-accountability.pdf">Correspondence between AGRA and African groups</a>, September 2020</li><h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-n-ews-coverage-and-critical-perspectives">More news coverage and critical perspectives</h3><li><a href="https://www.theafricareport.com/361098/gates-doubles-down-on-gmos-to-fix-african-agriculture-during-nigeria-trip/#:~:text=Microsoft%20co%2Dfounder%20Bill%20Gates%20used%20his%20Nigeria%20visit%20to,regulatory%20process%20to%20approve%20them">Gates doubles down on GMOs to fix African agriculture during Nigeria trip</a>, by Eniola Akinkuotu, The Africa Report (9.10.24)</li><li><a href="https://8point9.com/african-faith-leaders-call-for-reparations-from-false-prophets-of-food-security/">African faith leaders call for reparations from ‘false prophets of food security,</a>’ 8.9ha (9.9.24)</li><li><a href="https://mg.co.za/africa/2024-09-03-bill-gates-plays-god-in-africas-agriculture-and-gets-it-wrong/">Bill Gates plays God in Africa’s agriculture and gets it wrong</a>, by Simon Allison, Mail & Guardian (9.3.24)</li><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinero/2024/09/02/why-african-groups-want-reparations-from-the-gates-foundation/">Why African Groups Want Reparations From The Gates Foundation</a>, by Christine Ro, Forbes (9.2.24) </li><li><a href="https://www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/287178_49dee004f1f447b190f6e58b32674c90.pdf?index=true">The Trouble with Farmer Bill: Bill Gates, Big Agriculture and the fight for the future of Africa’s Farmland</a>, by Simon Allison, The Continent (August 2024)</li><li><a href="https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/features/agroecology-proponents-battle-green-revolution-in-ghana/2024/">Agroecology Proponents Battle Green Revolution in Ghana</a>, by Joyce Gyekye, GBC Ghana Online (8.27.24) </li><li><a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/star-farmer/2024-08-29-agra-on-the-spot-for-alleged-undue-policy-influence/">AGRA on the spot for alleged undue policy influence</a>, Star Reporter (8.29.24)</li><li><a href="https://www.devex.com/news/african-groups-want-reparations-for-green-revolution-s-shortcomings-108172">African groups want ‘reparations’ for Green Revolution’s shortcomings</a>, by David Njagi, Devex (8.28.24)</li><li><a href="https://africanarguments.org/2024/08/corporate-or-community-led-africa-agricultural-future-is-at-a-crossroads-post-malabo/">Corporate or community-led? Africa’s agricultural future at a crossroads,</a> by Million Belay, African Arguments (8.20.24)</li><li><a href="https://peopledaily.digital/agra-on-the-spot-over-use-of-chemical-fertilisers/">AGRA on the spot over use of chemical fertilisers</a>, People’s Daily (8.29.24) </li><li><a href="https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/other-sources/article/?id=15255447&title=An-Open-Letter-to-the-Gates-Foundation-&-Other-Funders-of-Industrial-Agriculture:-African-Faith-Leaders-Demand-Reparations-from-the-Gates-Foundation">An Open Letter to the Gates Foundation & Other Funders of Industrial Agriculture</a>: African Faith Leaders Demand Reparations from the Gates Foundation, Philanthropy News Digest (8.15.24)</li><li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/11/agra-gets-make-not-make/">AGRA gets make-up, not a make-over:</a> Gates-funded group rebrands to remove "green revolution" from its name, by Timothy Wise and Jomo Swame Sundaram, IPS News (11.29.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/11/10/open-letter-bill-gates-food-farming-and-africa">An Open Letter to Bill Gates on Food, Farming, and Africa</a> from AGRA Watch and 50organizations (11.10.22)</li><li><a href="https://cagj.org/wp-content/uploads/Gates-grant-report.pdf">African Agricultural Development... for the US?</a> An analysis of the distribution of Gates Foundation grants. AGRA Watch/ Community Alliance for Global Justice (10.22)</li><li><a href="https://theexchange.africa/investing/agra-donors-funding-food-insecurity-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Critics: AGRA billions funding food insecurity in Africa</a>: Studies show since AGRA's founding, food insecurity has increased by 31%, by Giza Mode, The Exchange (10.21.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/critic-call-end-western-fund-food-program-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Time’s up’: Critics call for end to Western-funded food program in Africa</a>, by Bartosz Brzenzinski, Politico (9.13.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2022/09/12/african-farmers-to-uk-stop-funding-climate-stupid-agriculture-on-our-continent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African farmers to UK: stop funding ‘climate-stupid’ agriculture on our continent,</a> by Tracy Keeling, The Canary (9.12.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/09/optimism-prevails-despite-uncertainty-revolution-build-africas-food-systems/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Optimism Prevails Despite Uncertainty Over Revolution to Build Africa’s Food Systems</a>, by Aimable Twahirwa, IPS News (9.12.22)</li><li><a href="https://thegrio.com/2022/09/10/agra-bill-gates-backlash-african-farmers-debt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1B effort to fight African hunger put farmers in debt and poisons in soil, critics say,</a> The Grio (9.10.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/gates-funded-green-revolution-in-africa-has-failed-critics-say/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gates-funded ‘green revolution’ in Africa has failed, critics say</a>, by Nina Shapiro, Seattle Times (9.8.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2022/9/8/somalia_east_africa_face_humanitarian_crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Famine by October? Somalia & East Africa Face Humanitarian Crisis Amid Climate Change, Ukraine War</a>, Democracy Now! (9.8.22)</li><li><a href="https://timeoftheworld.com/2022/09/05/costly-fertiliser-agra-pledges-bold-action-but-activists-say-bold-action-should-be-defunding-agra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Costly Fertiliser: In Kigali, AGRA Pledges Bold Action, Activists Have A Different Idea of Bold: Defund AGRA</a>,TIME of the World (South Sudan) (9.5.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.independentprobe.com/afsa-holds-annual-african-green-revolution-forum-in-kigila/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AFSA Claims Green Revolution Has Failed in Africa, Demands Donors’ Funding be Redirected to Agroecology</a>, Independent Probe (Liberia) (9.3.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.sidwaya.info/blog/2022/09/03/souverainete-alimentaire-en-afrique-la-societe-civile-appelle-a-un-financement-consequent-de-lagroecologie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food sovereignty in Africa: Civil society calls for substantial funding for agroecology</a>, Sidwaya (Burkina Faso) (9.3.22)</li><li><a href="https://rwandadispatch.com/activists-urge-end-to-the-failed-green-revolution-in-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Activists urge end to the failed Green Revolution in Africa</a>, by Aimable Twahirwa, Rwanda Dispatch (9.3.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyBelIilnzU&ab_channel=Nation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lobby groups of African civil society and farmers call for an end to failed Green Revolution</a>, press conference clip, AFSA (9.2.22)</li><li><a href="https://kilimonews.co.ke/agriculture-politics/african-farmers-and-faith-leaders-demand-an-end-to-the-green-revolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African Farmers and Faith Leaders demand an end to the Green Revolution</a>, Kilimo News (Kenya) (9.2.22)</li><li><a href="https://nation.africa/africa/news/redirect-funding-to-agroecology-not-agra-african-civil-societies-tell-donors--3934406" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Redirect funding to agroecology, not AGRA, African civil societies tell donors</a>, by David Mwere, The Nation (Kenya) (9.1.22)</li><li><a href="https://www.kbc.co.ke/africas-ability-to-feed-itself-being-undermined/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Africa’s ability to feed itself being undermined</a>, Judith Akolo, KBC (Kenya) (9.1.22)</li><li><a href="https://newsghana.com.gh/our-africa-our-agriculture-african-farmers-and-faith-leaders-demand-an-end-to-the-failed-green-revolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our Africa, Our Agriculture: African Farmers And Faith Leaders Demand An End To The Failed Green Revolution,</a> News Ghana (9.1.22)</li><li><a href="https://soundcloud.com/africanowonline/africanow-aug-31-2022-africa-food-security-insecurity-in-an-age-of-planetary-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African Food Insecurity in Planetary Crisis</a>, Africa Now WPFW radio (8.31.22)</li><li><a href="https://timeoftheworld.com/2022/08/29/anti-synthetic-fertilizer-sentiments-as-agra-forum-comes-to-kigali/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anti-Synthetic Fertilizer Sentiments As AGRA forum Comes to Kigali</a>, Richard Sultan, TIME of the World (South Sudan) (8.29.22)</li><li><a href="http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/african-farmers-csos-oppose-chemical-fertilisers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African farmers, CSOs oppose chemical fertilisers, </a> by Kabanda Chulu, Zambia Daily Mail Limited (8.29.22)</li><li><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/bold-action-for-resilient-food-systems-end-the-failing-green-revolution-3928148" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bold action for resilient food systems? End the failing Green Revolution</a>, by Anne Maina, Daily Nation (Kenya) (8.27.22)</li><li><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/green-revolution-forum-confronts-food-fertilizer-crises-3924678" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green Revolution Forum confronts food, fertilizer crises</a>, by Timothy A. Wise, Daily Nation (Kenya) (8.24.22)</li><li><a href="http://expression.africa/why-criticism-against-green-revolution-is-growing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Why criticism against ‘green revolution’ is growing:</a> AGRA is now hard-pressed to demonstrate its achievements after 15 years and one billion dollars in funding, by Julius Sigei, Expression Africa (10.13.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/10/9/african-agriculture-without-its-farmers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African agriculture without African farmers:</a> Mass dispossession of smallholder farmers is not a side effect of the ‘African Green Revolution’. It is the whole point. by Alex Park, Siera Vercillo, Al Jazeera (10.9.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/agra-donors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African groups want Gates Foundation, USAID to shift agricultural funding as hunger crisis worsens</a>, by Stacy Malkan, U.S. Right to Know, Sept. 8, 2021</li><li><a href="https://afsafrica.org/press-release-200-organisations-urge-donors-to-scrap-agra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">200 Organisations Urge Donors To Scrap AGRA</a>, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, press release, September 6, 2021</li><li><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2021/09/africans-publicly-challenge-green-revolution-backers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Africans publicly challenge Green Revolution backers</a>, by Cecelia Heffron, Food Tank, September 2021</li><li><a href="http://www.news.cn/english/2021-09/02/c_1310164804.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African lobby groups urge for investments in nature-based farming to overcome hunger</a>, Xinhua News Agency, September 2, 2021</li><li><a href="https://afsafrica.org/press-release-stop-funding-industrial-agriculture-in-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Africa's largest civil society network calls on Western governments and private foundations to stop funding industrial agriculture in Africa</a>, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa press release, September 2, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/section/fifth-estate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Industrial Agriculture Is No Solution for Africa</a>, by Francesca de Gasparis and Gabriel Manyangadze, Capital News Kenya, August 31, 2021</li><li><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2021/08/fiddling-nairobi-africa-goes-hungry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fiddling in Nairobi While Africa Goes Hungry</a>, by Timothy Wise, IPS News, August 31, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/agra-fails-to-deliver-on-promise-to-double-yields/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa ‘fails to deliver on promise to double yields</a>’, by Inga Vesper, SciDevNet, August 20, 2021</li><li><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2021/08/african-faith-leaders-call-on-the-bill-melinda-gates-foundation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African Faith Leaders Call on The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Drop African Green Revolution</a>, by Cecelia Heffron, Food Tank, August 4, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.iatp.org/throwing-good-money-after-bad">Throwing good money after bad: Failing Green Revolution program readies billion-dollar fund drive</a>, by Timothy Wise. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, July 2, 2021</li><li><a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanas-farmers-arent-all-seeing-the-fruits-of-a-green-revolution-162345">Ghana’s farmers aren’t all seeing the fruits of a Green Revolution</a>, by James Boafo and Kristen Lyons. The Conversation, June 14, 2021.</li><li><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/farm-protests-in-india-are-writing-the-green-revolutions-obituary/">Farm Protests in India are Writing the Green Revolution’s Obituary</a>, by Aniket Aga. Scientific American, January 24, 2021</li><li><a href="https://jacobinmag.com/2020/12/agribusiness-gates-foundation-green-revolution-africa-agra?fbclid=IwAR1WOdePeE468HKtV_jw3135bq4cGmEDZ2BrpuxJIJ97VhfJsluFkEVylXg">Bill Gates’s Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa</a>, by Jan Urhahn, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung. Jacobin magazine, December 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/how-the-green-revolution-is-harming-africa-4850/">How the Green Revolution Is Harming Africa</a>, by Jayati Ghosh, chair of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University.International Political Sociology journal, October 14, 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/42644?cHash=c1516e5c7957c0497a09c27027403bc2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“It’s a Vicious Cycle,”Mamadou Goïta of IRPAD on the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa</a>, 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/202010/pressure-builds-gates-foundation-agra-accountability">Pressure builds on Gates Foundation AGRA for accountability</a>, by Timothy A. Wise, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, October 13, 2020</li><li><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/09/africa-crossroads-time-abandon-failing-green-revolution/">Africa at the Crossroads: Time to Abandon Failing Green Revolution</a>, by Million Belay and Timothy A Wise.IPS News, September 23, 2020</li><li><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/08/address-malnutrition-food-insecurity/">Address Malnutrition with Food Insecurity</a>, by Jomo Kwame Sundaram, economist, former Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. IPS News, August 2020</li><li><a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-08-africa-food-yields.html">Africa food organization 'fails to deliver on promise to double yields.’</a> SciDev, August 24, 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/has-africas-green-revolution-failed/a-54581028">Has Africa's green revolution failed?</a>, Deutsche Welle, August 15, 2020</li><li><a href="https://theecologist.org/2020/aug/14/gates-failing-green-revolution-africa">Gates ‘Failing Green Revolution in Africa’, </a> by Stacy Malkan. The Ecologist, August 14, 2020</li><li><a href="https://civileats.com/2020/08/11/what-u-s-investment-in-africa-means-for-agroecology/">US Groups Invest Billions in Industrial Ag in Africa. Experts Say It’s not Ending Hunger or Helping Farmers.”</a> Civil Eats, August 11, 2020<a id="GMOsGlobalSouth"></a></li><li><a href="https://foodfirst.org/publication/ten-reasons-why-the-rockefeller-and-the-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundations-alliance-for-another-green-revolution-will-not-solve-the-problems-of-poverty-and-hunger-in-sub-saharan-africa/">Ten Reasons Why the Green Revolution Will Not Solve Poverty and Hunger in Africa</a>, by Eric Holt-Giménez, Miguel Altieri and Peter Rosset. Food First. October 1, 2006</li><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-are-gmos-controversial-in-the-global-south">Why are GMOs controversial in the Global South?</h2>Bill Gates has said genetically engineered crops will “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2jHpyJAHCU">end starvation in Africa</a>,” and he invests heavily in GMO research and development. But African <a href="https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/27892/why-african-countries-maintain-tight-restrictions-on-genetically-modified-food">governments</a>, civil society and farmer organizations have long resisted GMO crops. They cite many concerns, including <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/harmonisation-seed-laws-africa-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corporate control of seed stock</a>, loss of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/resistance-to-genetically-modified-seeds-in-africa/a-44736633">traditional crops</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/oct/17/gm-agriculture-not-answer-seed-diversity">local seed varieties</a>, higher <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/feeding-east-africa-locals-skeptical-of-gm-crops/a-42385062">cost of GMO seeds</a>, increased <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/debate-over-glyphosate-rages-in-south-africa/a-36880101">use of herbicides</a> associated with GMO crops, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jun/24/gm-crops-african-farmers">limitations of GMO crops</a> to perform in complex environments, the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/burkina-faso-abandons-gm-cotton/a-19362330" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">failure of high-profile</a> GMO projects and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/sep/02/drought-resistant-crops-gm-africa-monsanto-syngenta-dupont">doubts the crops</a> will ever live up to the promotional hype.“The empirical record of GM crops for poor small farmers in the Global South has not lived up to expectations.” <a href="https://twitter.com/bdowduribe/status/1339451103067348992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Dowd-Uribe</a>, USFCAThe two largest introductions of GMO crops for small farmers in the Global South, Bt cotton crops in Burkina Faso and India, have been problematic for small farmers. Burkina Faso <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/burkina-faso-abandons-gm-cotton/a-19362330">abandoned</a> its genetically modified Bt cotton experiment after the seeds <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/homepage/">failed to deliver the same quality</a> as the homegrown variety. Farmers lost In India, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-020-0615-5">20 years of data</a> on Bt cotton found no yield increase associated with the crops, and determined that farmers are now spending more on pesticides than before the introduction of Bt due in part to insect resistance. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adaa021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 study in African Affairs</a> found that nearly 30 years of strategic and well-funded efforts to bring GMOs to Africa have so far yielded very little.In South Africa, most of the country’s staple maize food crop is genetically modified to resist glyphosate-based Roundup herbicides. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classifies glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen, and many <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/debate-over-glyphosate-rages-in-south-africa/a-36880101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local groups have raised health concerns</a> about the prevalent use of the herbicides.<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reports-and-articles-about-gmos-in-the-global-south">Reports and articles about GMOs in the Global South </h3><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/gm-corn-and-glyphosate-science-documents-from-mexico-us-trade-dispute/">GM corn and glyphosate: Documents from the Mexico / U.S. trade dispute</a>, U.S. Right to Know, March 2025.</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/new-scientific-analyses-mexicos-restrictions-on-gm-corn-glyphosate-health-risks/">New scientific analyses underpin Mexico’s restrictions on GM corn and glyphosate due to health risks</a>, by Stacy Malkan and Timothy A. Wise, U.S. Right to Know, January 14, 2025 </li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/scientist-defends-mexicos-food-sovereignty-from-gm-corn-glyphosate/">Leading scientist defends Mexico’s food sovereignty from GM corn and glyphosate</a>; interview with former CONACYT director Dr. María Elena Álvarez-Buylla, U.S. Right to Know, November 27, 2024 </li><li><a href="https://thecounter.org/mexico-phaseout-glyphosate-genetically-engineered-corn-united-states/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mexico is phasing out imports of glyphosate and GMO corn. Supporters say that could reverse years of damage from U.S. trade policy</a>, by Renee Alexander, Simran Sethi. The Counter, July 19, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/column/golden-rices-unfulfilled-promise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golden Rice’s unfulfilled promise</a>, by Crispin Maslog. SciDevNet, May 22, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/bayer-breathing-life-gates-failed-gm-drought-tolerant-maize">Bayer breathing life into Gates’ failed GM drought tolerant maize</a>, by Sabrina Masinjila and Rutendo Zendah, African Centre for Biodiversity, April 28, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X20302540">Knowledge politics and the Bt cotton success narrative in Burkina Faso</a>, by Jessie Luna and Brian Dowd-Uribe. World Development, December 2020</li><li><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/10/does-kenya-need-gmo-cassava-ask-the-world-food-prize-winner-who-saved-africas-cassava/">Does Kenya Need GMO Cassava? Ask the World Food Prize-winner Who Saved Africa’s Cassava</a>, by Timothy Wise. Food Tank, October 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-020-0615-5">Long-term impacts of Bt cotton in India</a>, by K.R. Kranthi and Glenn Davis Stone, Nature Plants, October 2020</li><li><a href="https://navdanyainternational.org/publications/gates-to-a-global-empire/">Gates to a Global Empire over Seed, Food, Health, Knowledge …and the Earth</a>, Navdanya International reports from 20 authors from a broad range of groups describing Gates’ food and agriculture work, October 2020.</li><li><a href="https://navdanyainternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/THE-GOLDEN-RICE-HOAX.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Golden Rice Hoax</a>, by Vandana Shiva, October 2020.</li><li><a href="https://qz.com/africa/1900035/the-lie-of-monsantos-genetically-modified-cotton-in-burkina-faso/">How the “success story” of genetically modified cotton in Burkina Faso fell apart</a>, by Jessie Luna and Brian Dows-Uribe. Quartz Africa, September 4, 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/push-back-against-risky-and-unsafe-rnai-gm-cassava-cultivation-kenya">Push back against risky and unsafe RNAi GM cassava cultivation in Kenya</a>, African Centre for Biodiversity, September 2, 2020</li><li><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-power-shaped-the-success-story-of-genetically-modified-cotton-in-burkina-faso-144959">How power shaped the ‘success story’ of genetically modified cotton in Burkina Faso</a>, by Brian Dowd-Uribe. The Conversation, August 30, 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/gmos-south-africa-23-years-failures-biodiversity-loss-and-escalating-hunger">GMOs in South Africa 23 years on: failures, biodiversity loss and escalating hunger</a>, African Centre for Biodiversity, August 3, 2020</li><li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adaa021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The complex choreography of agricultural biotechnology in Africa</a>, by Joeva Rock and Rachel Schurman.African Affairs, July, 29 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/serious-concerns-over-bt-brinjal/article28022577.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Serious concerns over Bt brinjal</a>, by Aniket Aga. The Hindu, June 18, 2019</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/failure-monsantos-drought-tolerant-maize-pushed-africa-confirmed-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Failure of Monsanto’s drought tolerant maize pushed on Africa – confirmed in US</a>, African Center for Biodiversity, March 4, 2019 based on <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/91103/eib-204.pdf?v=5455.2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2019 USDA report</a></li><li><a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/how-bt-brinjal-hurt-the-farmers-of-bangladesh-63385" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How Bt brinjal hurt the farmers of Bangladesh</a>, Down to Earth, February 17, 2019</li><li><a href="http://ubinig.org/index.php/home/showAerticle/207/english/UBINIG/‘Adoption’-&-abandoning-of-Bt-brinjal-cultivation:-Farmers’-Experience-Survey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Adoption’ & abandoning of Bt brinjal cultivation: Farmers’ Experience Survey</a>, UBINIG, September 12, 2019</li><li><a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cuag.12147">“We Are Not Starving:” Challenging Genetically Modified Seeds and Development in Ghana</a>, by Joeva Rock, PhD, Agriculture, Food and Environment, 2018</li><li><a href="http://www.dw.com/en/feeding-east-africa-locals-skeptical-of-gm-crops/a-42385062">Feeding East Africa – locals skeptical of GM crops</a>, Deutsche Welle, January 2, 2018</li><li><a href="https://www.etcgroup.org/sites/www.etcgroup.org/files/files/etc_hbf_forcing_the_farm_web.pdf">Forcing the Farm: How Gene Drive Organisms Could Entrench Industrial Agriculture and Threaten Food Sovereignty</a>, ETC Group, October 16, 2018</li><li> <a href="https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/18593">Bound to fail: The flawed scientific foundations of agricultural genetic engineering</a> by Michael Antoniou, PhD, Head of the Gene Expression and Therapy Group, King's College London School of Medicine; GM Watch, November 21, 2018</li><li><a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/homepage/">How Monsanto’s GM cotton sowed trouble in Africa</a>, by Joe Bavier. Reuters, December 8, 2017</li><li><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/debate-over-glyphosate-rages-in-south-africa/a-36880101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Debate over glyphosate rages in South Africa</a>, DW, by Leah Albrect, January 27, 2017</li><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/02/23/manipulate-and-mislead-how-gmos-are-infiltrating-africa">Manipulate and mislead: How GMOs are infiltrating Africa</a>, by Haidee Swanby, Mariann Bassey Orovwuje. Common Dreams, February 23, 2015</li><li> <a href="https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Who-benefits-report-2015.pdf">Who benefits from GM crops?</a> The expansion of agribusiness interests in Africa through biosafety policy. Friends of the Earth International, February 2015</li><li><a href="http://www.panna.org/blog/what-gates-gets-wrong-ge-every-time">What Bill Gates gets wrong on GE, every time</a>, Pesticide Action Network, 2012</li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03066150903498754?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=fjps20">The corporate shaping of GM crops as a technology for the poor</a>, by Dominic Glover. Journal of Peasant Studies, January 2010</li><li> <a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/new-green-revolution-africa-trojan-horse-gmos">New Green Revolution for Africa: Trojan Horse for GMOs</a>, African Centre for Biodiversity, 2007</li><h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-statements-from-ngos-and-scientists">Statements from NGOs and scientists</h3><li><a href="https://www.etcgroup.org/sites/www.etcgroup.org/files/files/etc_ftfsignonletter113018engweb_1.pdf">A Call to Protect Food Systems from Genetic Extinction Technology</a>: 200 groups oppose the release of gene drive technology in Africa and elsewhere, ETC Group, 2020</li><li><a href="https://afsafrica.org/seeds-of-neo-colonialism-why-the-gmo-promoters-get-it-so-wrong-about-africa/">Seeds Of Neo-Colonialism: Why The GMO Promoters Get It So Wrong About Africa</a>, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, 2018<a id="GatesMediaInfluence"></a></li><li><a href="https://enveurope.springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12302-014-0034-1.pdf">No scientific consensus on GMO safety</a>, statement signed by 300 independent researchers. Environmental Sciences Europe, 2015</li><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-does-gates-influence-media-and-food-narratives">How does Gates influence media and food narratives?</h2>“News about (Bill) Gates these days is often filtered through the perspectives of the many academics, nonprofits, and think tanks that Gates funds. Sometimes it is delivered to readers by newsrooms with financial ties to the foundation,” reported Tim Schwab <a href="https://www.cjr.org/criticism/gates-foundation-journalism-funding.php">in Columbia Journalism Review</a>. He documents more than $250 million in Gates grants to a variety of top news outlets."(P)aid Cornell Alliance for Science fellows — under the guise of scientific expertise — launched vicious attacks."Fern Holland, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, <a href="https://cornellsun.com/2019/11/19/guest-room-students-should-continue-to-question-the-ethics-of-the-cornell-alliance-for-science/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Cornell Daily Sun</a> The Gates Foundation also funds many groups that work to shape public views on agriculture. One example is the Cornell Alliance for Science, a communications campaign based at Cornell University, <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/08/new-cornell-alliance-science-gets-56-million-grant">launched with</a> a Gates Foundation grant in 2014 to “depolarize the charged debate” around GMOs.” The group trains global fellows, particularly in Africa, to promote GMOs in their home countries. Cornell Alliance for Science affiliates were also active in opposing pesticide regulations in Hawaii. Gates Foundation has donated $22 million to the group.<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cornell-alliance-for-science-critiques">Cornell Alliance for Science critiques</h3><li><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bill-gates-stop-telling-africans-what-kind-of-agriculture-africans-need/?previewid=0144FCCA-AADD-4DA3-A978B39874AD14D2">Bill Gates: Stop Telling Africans What Kind of Agriculture Africans Need</a>, by Million Belay and Bridget Mugambe. Scientific American, July 6, 2021</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/gates-foundation-cornell-misinformation-campaign-african-leaders-call-for-agroecology/">Gates Foundation doubles down on misinformation as African groups call for agroecology</a>, by Stacy Malkan, U.S. Right to Know, September 30, 2020</li><li><a href="https://cagj.org/2020/09/experts-in-agroecology-withdraw-from-cornell-alliance-for-science-agroecology-webinar-cite-bias-of-cas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Experts in agroecology withdraw from Cornell Alliance for Science Agroecology Webinar, citing bias</a>, Community Alliance for Global Justice, September 30, 2020</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/mark-lynas/">Mark Lynas’ (Cornell Alliance for Science) inaccurate, deceptive promotions for the agrichemical agenda</a>, by Stacy Malkan. U.S. Right to Know, August 8, 2020</li><li><a href="https://cagj.org/2020/08/new-agra-watch-report-messengers-of-gates-agenda-a-case-study-of-the-cornell-alliance-for-science-global-leadership-fellows-program/">Messengers of Gates’ Agenda: A Case Study of the Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows Program</a>, Community Alliance for Global Justice, August 7, 2020</li><li><a href="https://cornellsun.com/2019/11/19/guest-room-students-should-continue-to-question-the-ethics-of-the-cornell-alliance-for-science/">Students Should Continue to Question the Ethics of the Cornell Alliance for Science</a>, by Fern Holland, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action. The Cornell Daily Sun, November 19, 2019</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/mark-lynas-slammed-exploiting-african-farmers-images-promote-gmos">Mark Lynas slammed for exploiting African farmers’ images to promote GMOs</a>, African Centre for Biodiversity press release, 2018</li><li><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/sites/default/files/documents/202005/mark-lynas-unauthorized-use-farmers-images-misleading-and-unethical-tactics-promote-gm-crops_0.pdf">Mark Lynas’ unauthorized use of farmer’s images in misleading and unethical tactics to promote GM crops in Tanzania</a>, report by Eugenio Tisselli, PhD, and Angelika Hilbeck, PhD, 2018</li><li><a href="https://www.independentsciencenews.org/news/gates-foundation-grants-additional-6-4million-to-cornells-controversial-alliance-for-science/">Gates Foundation Grants Additional $6.4 million to Cornell’s Controversial Alliance for Science</a>, Independent Science News, November 1, 2017</li><h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reporting-on-gates-media-influence">Reporting on Gates' media influence</h3><li><a href="https://timschwab.substack.com/p/its-time-to-confront-oligarch-media">It's time to confront the oligarch media</a>, by Timothy Schwab, Substack, July 17, 2025. </li><li><a href="https://www.cjr.org/criticism/gates-foundation-journalism-funding.php">Journalism’s Gates Keepers</a>, by Timothy Schwab. Columbia Journalism Review, August 21, 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/journalism-foundations-advertisers-conditions.php">‘When money is offered, we listen’: foundation funding and nonprofit journalism</a>, by Jacob Nelson and Patrick Ferrucci. Columbia Journalism Review, January 10, 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/6/10/8760199/gates-foundation-criticism">The media loves the Gates Foundation. These experts are more skeptical</a>, by Julia Belluz. Vox, 2015</li><li><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/does-gates-funding-of-media-taint-objectivity/">Does Gates funding of media taint objectivity?</a> Seattle Times, 2011</li><li><a href="https://archives.cjr.org/the_observatory/the_web_grows_wider.php">The Web Grows Wider</a> ; Gates Foundation partnerships with the Guardian and ABC News further complicate global health coverage, by Robert Fortner. Columbia Journalism Review, October 8, 2010</li><li><a href="https://archives.cjr.org/the_observatory/how_ray_suarez_really_caught_t.php">How Ray Suarez Really Caught the Global Health Bug</a>: The Gates Foundation, global health, and the media, by Robert Fortner. Columbia Journalism Review, October 7, 2010<a id="MoreGatesNews"></a></li><li><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/not-many-speak-their-mind-to-gates-foundation/">Not many speak their mind to Gates Foundation</a>, by Sandi Doughton. Seattle Times, 2008</li><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-gates-foundation-news">More Gates Foundation news </h2><li><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/gates-foundation-colonialism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Gates Foundation Avoids a Reckoning on Race and Power: </a> Can philanthropy decolonize? Only if wealthy donors grapple with the difference between giving away money and actually sharing power. by Tim Schwab, The Nation (10.6.21)</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/business/bill-gates-melinda-gates-divorce-foundation.html">Bill Gates Can Remove Melinda French Gates From Foundation in Two Years</a>, by Nicholas Kulish, New York Times, July 7, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/warren-buffetts-exit-from-the-gates-foundation-clouds-its-future/">Warren Buffett’s Exit From the Gates Foundation Clouds Its Future</a>, by Michael J. de la Merced and Nicholas Kulish, New York Times, June 23, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/mcdonald-s-french-fries-carrots-onions-all-foods-come-bill-n1270033">McDonald's french fries, carrots, onions: all of the foods that come from Bill Gates farmland</a>, by April Glaser. NBC News, June 8, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/gates-foundation-michael-larson/">Despite the Headlines, the Gates Foundation Has Evaded Scrutiny</a>, by Tim Schwab. The Nation, June 7, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/business/dealbook/gates-divorce-foundation.html">The Big Stakes in the Gates Divorce</a>, By Andrew Ross Sorkin, Jason Karaian, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, Lauren Hirsch and Ephrat Livni. New York Times, May 4, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/bill-gates-climate-book/">Bill Gates, Climate Warrior. And Super Emitter, </a> by Tim Schwab. The Nation, February 16, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.foodpolitics.com/2021/01/the-gates-foundation-solution-or-problem/">The Gates Foundation: Philanthropy or Power Grabbing?</a> by Marion Nestle, Food Politics, January 20, 2021</li><li><a title="Permanent Link to Bill Gates: America’s Top Farmland Owner" href="https://landreport.com/2021/01/bill-gates-americas-top-farmland-owner/" rel="bookmark">Bill Gates: America’s Top Farmland Owner, </a> by Eric O'Keefe, The Land Report, January 11, 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/bill-gates-foundation-philanthropy/">Bill Gates Gives to the Rich (Including Himself), </a> by Tim Schwab. The Nation, Marcy 17, 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-gatesx07jan07-story.html">Dark cloud over good works of Gates Foundation</a>, by Charles Piller, Edmund Sanders and Robyn Dixon. Los Angeles Times, January 7, 2007<a id="USRTKreporting"></a> </li><li>See also <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-gatesx7jan07-sg-storygallery.html">LA Times story gallery</a> for more reporting based on 18-month investigation of the Gates Foundation in 2007.</li><h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reporting-by-u-s-right-to-know">Reporting by U.S. Right to Know</h2>Read our series of articles about Bill Gates' and the Gates Foundation's plans for our food system, written by Stacy Malkan, managing editor of U.S. Right to Know.<li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates/goalkeepers2030/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">5 questions Gates Foundation should answer about agricultural projects in Africa</a> (9.20.23)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates/agra-documents/">AGRA documents disappeared from AGRA website; we posted them here</a> (8.29.23)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/gates-foundation-agriculture-project-in-africa-flunks-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gates Foundation agriculture project in Africa flunks review</a> (3.17.22)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/agra-donors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African groups want Gates Foundation, USAID to shift agricultural funding as hunger crisis worsens</a> (9.8. 21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/un-hunger-report-food-summit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New hunger report spotlights controversial UN Food Systems Summit</a> (7.14.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/radical-menu/">Bill Gates’ radical menu for food systems: ultra-processed foods, patents and monocrops</a> (5.26.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/the-next-neocolonial-gold-rush-african-food-systems-are-the-new-oil-un-documents-say/">The next neocolonial gold rush? African food systems are the ‘new oil, ’ UN documents say</a> (3.9.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/worldfoodsummit/">Why we’re tracking Bill Gates’ plans to remake our food systems</a> (2.26.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/gates-foundations-plans-to-remake-food-systems-will-hurt-the-climate/">Bill Gates’ plans to remake food systems will harm the climate</a> (2.25.21)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/gates-foundation-cornell-misinformation-campaign-african-leaders-call-for-agroecology/">Gates Foundation doubles down on misinformation campaign at Cornell as African leaders call for agroecology</a> (9.30.20)</li><li><a href="https://theecologist.org/2020/aug/14/gates-failing-green-revolution-africa">Gates 'failing green revolution in Africa'</a>, The Ecologist (8.14.20)</li><li><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2016/03/bill-gates-mission-sell-gmos-africa-hes-not-telling-whole-truth/">Bill Gates Is on a Mission to Sell GMOs to Africa, but He's Not Telling the Whole Truth</a>, Alternet (3.22.16)</li><li><a href="https://theecologist.org/2016/jan/22/why-cornell-university-hosting-gmo-propaganda-campaign">Why is Cornell University hosting a GMO propaganda campaign?</a>, The Ecologist (1.22.16)</li><li><a href="https://usrtk.org/bill-gates/agra-donors/">African groups wantGates Foundation, USAID to shift agricultural funding as hunger crisis worsens</a> (9.8.21) </li><li>Fact sheets about the misinformation, inaccuracies and pesticide industry alliances of the Gates Foundation-funded <a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/cornell-alliance-for-science/">Alliance for Science</a> and its <a href="https://usrtk.org/industry-pr/mark-lynas/">fellow Mark Lynas</a></li> <a href="https://usrtk.org/sign-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up here for email updates</a>. You can make a <a href="https://usrtk.org/donations/donate-to-usrtk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax-deductible donation here</a> to support the U.S. Right to Know investigations.