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Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

jacobinmag.com

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Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#11

Post by hnracer »

AndrewBissell wrote: post #9
jevgeni wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The program follows practices already common in the West. That means it makes it easier to convince Western companies to make long term investments there without fear of some arbitrary action to their assets ( cough -Sakhalin-2- cough ). But yeah, important thing is that the western upper-middleclass has a convenient boogeyman to vilify in a digestible form for day-time viewing.

> The program follows practices already common in the West. Is this supposed to be some kind of defense?

The sentence following the one that you quoted is the defense, perhaps you should argue against that instead?

Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#13

Post by OneGuy123 »

petre wrote: post #8

Ah, so the "Green Revolution" is ferts and hybrid seeds, monocrops and pesticides. Once big agriculture kills all the bees with monocrops and pesticides, big agro along with Gates can rebrand world hunger to global hunger and claim they're fighting against it.

This. Destroy natural environment so that only yours can be used.

Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#14

Post by giorgosts »

As a farmer, you can always choose not to use these methods, stay with your traditional way. As you can do in the west also, even in the EU with all its rules and regulations.

And the impact of these grants is overrated. A billion in the whole of Africa is a drop in the ocean. It is more of an experiment really, to see if technology can help, but the problems there are deeply political.

Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#15

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

It seems to me that the position this article characterizes as the "agribusiness" side is clearly correct. Many countries have effectively ended starvation, and all of them did so by replacing most small scale farming farming with industrial agriculture. No country has ended starvation without this replacement.

So while AGRA may have issues, and the article does suggest a few, I'm very confident that a plan to keep most people stuck as low-productivity subsistence farmers will be worse. No strategy for "distribution of power resources and control over agricultural inputs" will overcome the fundamental problem that a nonindustrialized farm of staple crops produces too little value to keep a family fed and happy.

Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#16

Post by f6v »

giorgosts wrote: post #14

As a farmer, you can always choose not to use these methods, stay with your traditional way. As you can do in the west also, even in the EU with all its rules and regulations. And the impact of these grants is overrated. A billion in the whole of Africa is a drop in the ocean. It is more of an experiment really, to see if technology can help, but the problems there are deeply political.

It’s probably easier to manipulate people who live in extreme poverty and lack basic education.

Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#17

Post by thrips552727 »

This kinda thing seems like a global phenomenon. Nothing new though. For example, the current ongoing farmers' protests in India. [0]

The ever intelligent and witty veteran journalist P Sainath breaks it down clearly. [1]

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Indian_farmers%27_prote...

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDDUdkA2Cjk

Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#18

Post by f6v »

OneGuy123 wrote: post #13
petre wrote: post #8

Ah, so the "Green Revolution" is ferts and hybrid seeds, monocrops and pesticides. Once big agriculture kills all the bees with monocrops and pesticides, big agro along with Gates can rebrand world hunger to global hunger and claim they're fighting against it.

This. Destroy natural environment so that only yours can be used.

Turns out Bill Gates is some kind of evil billionaire genius?

Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#19

Post by AndrewBissell »

hnracer wrote: post #11
AndrewBissell wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The program follows practices already common in the West. Is this supposed to be some kind of defense?

The sentence following the one that you quoted is the defense, perhaps you should argue against that instead?

That sentence is just more question begging. "Running things the way it is done in the West (i.e. encouraging 'investment' by Western firms) is good, therefore a program which furthers that end is a good one."

Re: Bill Gates's Foundation Is Leading a Green Counterrevolution in Africa

#20

Post by giorgosts »

f6v wrote: post #16
giorgosts wrote: post #14

As a farmer, you can always choose not to use these methods, stay with your traditional way. As you can do in the west also, even in the EU with all its rules and regulations. And the impact of these grants is overrated. A billion in the whole of Africa is a drop in the ocean. It is more of an experiment really, to see if technology can help, but the problems there are deeply political.

It’s probably easier to manipulate people who live in extreme poverty and lack basic education.

The situation in Europe at least, is that if you choose the old ways you'll be loosing money, so nobody does it except for those that do it as a hobby and not for making a living.
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