At a time when global hunger is on the rise and the pandemic has dramatically impacted global food systems, corporations are gaining even more control over agriculture than ever. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the largest private charitable foundation in the world, is leading the way in pushing global agricultural development priorities toward […]
Category Archives: Agra Watch News
Open Letter to Bill Gates from AGRA Watch & 50 Co-Signers
An Open Letter to Bill Gates on Food, Farming, and Africa AGRA Watch drafted this letter in response to two recent articles we found very troubling. We are joined by 50 organizations focused on food sovereignty and justice worldwide, who want Bill Gates to know there is no shortage of practical solutions and innovations by […]
Where does the Gates Foundation’s agriculture spending really go?
As part of our research for our Rich Appetites film series, AGRA Watch has conducted an analysis of Gates Foundation agricultural development grants specifically targeting Africa–now published as a report: African Agricultural Development … for the US? An Analysis of the Distribution of Gates Foundation Grants. Looking at grants through July 2021, we have found […]
What’s wrong with the Africa Food Prize?
This week the titans of agribusiness will shine a spotlight on their favorite tech-based approaches to food production by awarding the World Food Prize in Iowa, as they do every year, in the home of Norman Borlaug, credited as the “father of the green revolution.” When Yara International, the Norwegian fertilizer company, decided that it […]
CAGJ Executive Director, African farmers’ organizations featured in Seattle Times article!
On September 8, 2022, the Seattle Times published excellent and critical coverage of the Gates-funded Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The article also made the front page of the print newspaper on September 9! Nina Shapiro writes: As an annual African farming summit takes place this week in Rwanda, activists, farmers and […]
“Privatization is not the Answer”: 2nd film companion guide just released!
We’re delighted to announce that we’ve published our companion guide to Rich Appetites Episode 2 (Seeds)! This guide is available in three formats: as a page on the film website, a Google Doc, and a PDF (available for download on the film webpage). The companion guide goes into more detail on topics covered in the second film, diving deeper into the research […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-USAID and Congress: Stop funding industrial agriculture in Africa
For immediate release: August 30, 2022 Contact: Ashley Fent, [email protected], 253-686-6081 Community groups and taxpayers call on USAID and Congress to stop funding industrial agriculture in Africa In solidarity with African civil society groups, more than 1,100 letter signers demand that taxpayer money no longer be spent on the failing Alliance for a Green Revolution […]
AGRA Watch releases position statement
Over the past few months, AGRA Watch’s core members have developed a position statement, responding to the appropriation of our analysis to serve causes we do not agree with (including right-wing and anti-vaccine agendas). We strongly object to baseless conspiracy theories about Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation, which detract from our research and organizing […]
Announcing Ep4 of Rich Appetites docuseries!
We are SO EXCITED to announce today’s launch of “Science,” the fourth episode in our Rich Appetites docuseries, co-produced with the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA). Watch Episode 4 now!! (10min) Rich Appetites details how American billionaires and philanthro-capitalists like Bill Gates and his Foundation are underwriting the corporate control of African food systems under the […]
Women Farmers in Africa are Leading the Way Towards Agroecological Food Systems
Summary by AGRA Watch intern Sarah Muniz In Africa, about 60% of people work as small-scale food producers in some capacity, and at least half of those are women. Women play a critical role in agriculture, including in sorting, saving, and sharing seeds. A recent report entitled African Women Speak Out for Agroecology details how […]
