Agroecology in Action in Uganda: Former AGRA Watch Staff Matt Canfield Reports from the Field Former AGRA Watch staff member Matt  Canfield went to Uganda in July 2018 to research the GM banana issue more in depth. He now teaches at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

“It’s a David and Goliath battle that just won’t end,” one activist told me as he described the struggle over GMOs in Uganda. I had come to Uganda for a week to continue my research on the ongoing conflict over GMO regulation in Uganda. In a country where more than 70% of people work in agriculture, GMOs are a highly contested issue. For the past twenty years, Uganda has been involved in a vigorous debate about whether to permit the commercial production of genetically modified crops. Uganda is not alone in this debate. Countries across East and Sub-Saharan Africa are weighing the benefits and potential consequences of agricultural biotechnology as they seek to strengthen their agricultural economies. These local debates are shaped by intense pressure from biotechnology companies and foreign donors who claim they are “starved for science.” Yet so far, they have failed to convince East African publics of the benefits of GMOs. For biotechnology promoters, however, Uganda, is seen as a potential opportunity. 

Described as a “poster child” for neoliberalism, the Ugandan government has been actively pursuing the commercialization of agriculture and the introduction of agro-chemical inputs with the hopes of increasing exports. Given this penchant for market-based reform, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and its subsidiary, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, have been promoting several genetically modified crops, including a “biofortified” banana and “Water Efficient Maize for Africa.”  They hope these crops, which offer benefits beyond typical pesticide-resistance, can serve as emissaries to convince a skeptical public about the value of GMOs. In October 2017, the debate seemed to be over in Uganda, when parliament passed the Biosafety Act of 2017. The Act was to serve as the regulatory framework to allow commercial production of genetically modified crops, as required by the Convention on Biodiversity. It was assumed that President Museveni, who had voiced support for commercial agriculture and GMOs in the past, would immediately sign the bill into law. Read the rest of the blog and enjoy the photos, including sections on Practicing Agroecology in Mityana and The Praxis of Agroecology.

US Food Sovereignty Alliance: IV Assembly

Several CAGJ members participated in the fourth Assembly of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance in Bellingham Oct 12-15, and the presentation of the Food Sovereignty Prize. CAGJ helped plan the assembly, which was attended by 117 members and allies from more than 71 organizations and seven countries. Community to Community Development hosted everyone that gathered from around the world. The Assembly was the culmination of a process to together create a two-year action plan. The process began with an assembly in each region (South, Northeast, Midwest, West), where members analyzed current conditions, challenges and opportunities to advance food sovereignty and the right to food. Issues from the regional assemblies were presented for discussion and consideration for inclusion in the USFSA’s national work plan.

At the Assembly, members finalized the work plan, which will be carried out regionally. To organize priorities nationally, five issue-based cross-alliance collectives emerged:  Political Education; Narrative Strategy; International Relationships; Youth; and Agroecology:  Land and Water. The group reaffirmed its commitment to offer multiple paths to USFSA engagement with the grassroots movements-building effort led regionally. The IV National Assembly highlighted the overarching importance of access to and control of resources by local communities to achieve food sovereignty.

Feel like you werr there through Presbyterian Hunger Program's beautiful photo essay documenting the Assembly’s misticas, actions, theater, speakers, and others who made the Assembly such a powerful gathering. Read more about the Food Sovereignty Prize, from WhyHunger: 2018 Food Sovereignty Prize: Honoring the Work of Grassroots Movements Working at the Intersection of Climate Justice, Food Production and Democracy

An analysis on the role of small-scale farmers in saving Africa’s seed diversity has been compiled and co-published by GRAIN and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) with research partners from Ethiopia, Mali, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The report titled, “The real seed producers: small-scale farmers save, use, share and enhance the seed diversity of the crops that feed Africa,” outlines the battle over seed, agricultural resources, environmental degradation and their impact on local seed and food systems. For millions of African small-scale producers, diverse farmers’ seed varieties are crucial to food sovereignty, nutrition, enhancing biodiversity and agroecology, and sustaining livelihoods in rural and peri-urban areas. If these seeds are so “backward,” what moves farmers to keep preserving and planting them? This report provides answers to this and other questions. Access in English and French here and here.