The Fight over Africa’s Seeds

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Media Collection | The Fight over Africa’s Seeds

A video series from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa

Across Africa, a battle is raging between local agricultural producers and multinational agrocorporations over seeds. Who stores them? Who plants them? Who owns them? African farmers have cultivated, perfected, and handed down seeds for generations, but increasingly, corporations are trying to corner the market and force farmers to use their commercial, often times hybrid seeds, and capture the continent's food systems in the process.

In a new series of short, 8-minute videos produced by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), we take a closer look at the conflict and multinational agribusiness’s plans for Africa’s agricultural sector. We also discuss the value of farmers’ seeds and how we can transform our food systems towards sustainable and equitable agroecology. All video clips are available with English, French, and German subtitles.

The Seed Struggle in Africa

Details

Whoever controls seed controls our food. The battle for farmers’ seed rights is raging on the African continent as international seed companies set up shop to promote industrial seeds for staple food production by small-scale food producers as a solution to food insecurity and rural poverty. The seeds that farmers have been saving and passing down from one generation to the next are being displaced and the future of agriculture is at stake. Farmers’ seeds are the bedrock of our food systems and need to be recognised and supported by African states. The time to defend farmers’ seeds is now.

Credits
Directed and written by Andréa Gema
Producers: Famara Diédhiou, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), Refiloe Joala, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung and Jan Urhahn, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung
Offline Editors: Andréa Gema, Luke Housdon
Online Editor: Luke Housdon
Cinematography: Nick Burton Moore
Original Soundtrack: Gean Burrell
Sound Mixer: John Claassen
Colourist: Daniel de Villiers
Sound Design: Luke Housdon

The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung wishes to acknowledge and thank the civil society organisations that have contributed to the production of this short video:

  • African Centre for Biodiversity, South Africa
  • Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA)
  • AJAC-Lukaal, Senegal
  • Biowatch South Africa
  • Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Tanzania
  • Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO)
  • Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM)

This video was produced with financial assistance from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The Corporate Capture of African Agriculture

Food sovereignty is under threat across the continent

Details

The future of Africa’s food and agriculture is under threat as powerful multinational corporations take over the sector with support from African governments and initiatives such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

State policies that support narrow agricultural growth strategies based on Green Revolution input subsidies for artificial fertilizers, hybrid seeds, and pesticidesmight benefit the multinational corporations that supply these inputs, but they disadvantage farmers and destroy the environment. The corporate capture of food and agricultural systems must be challenged to turn the tide.

Credits
Directed and written by Andréa Gema
Producers: Famara Diédhiou, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), Refiloe Joala, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and Jan Urhahn, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
Offline Editors: Andréa Gema, Luke Housdon
Online Editor: Luke Housdon
Cinematography: Nick Burton Moore
Original Soundtrack: Gean Burrell
Sound Mixer: John Claassen
Colourist: Daniel de Villiers
Sound Design: Luke Housdon

The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation wishes to acknowledge and thank the civil society organizations that have contributed to the production of this short video:

  • African Centre for Biodiversity, South Africa
  • Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA)
  • AJAC-Lukaal, Senegal
  • Biowatch South Africa
  • Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Tanzania
  • Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO)
  • Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM)

This video was produced with financial assistance from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Farmers’ Seeds: The Key to Agroecology

Part III in a video series on food sovereignty in Africa

Details

Our food systems are broken — and farmers’ seeds and agroecology are the only real sustainable fix to the problems. Farmers’ seeds offer us locally produced food and fight hunger while saving the environment through climate change adaptation and protecting our biodiversity. Farmers’ seeds are the key to transforming our food systems towards agroecology. With farmers’ seeds, anything is possible.

Credits

Directed and written by Andréa Gema
Producers: Famara Diédhiou, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), Refiloe Joala, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung and Jan Urhahn, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung
Offline Editors: Andréa Gema, Luke Housdon
Online Editor: Luke Housdon
Cinematography: Nick Burton Moore
Original Soundtrack: Gean Burrell
Sound Mixer: John Claassen
Colourist: Daniel de Villiers Sound Design: Luke Housdon

The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung wishes to acknowledge and thank the civil society organisations that have contributed to the production of this short video: African Centre for Biodiversity, South Africa Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) AJAC-Lukaal, Senegal Biowatch South Africa Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Tanzania Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO) Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) This video was produced with financial assistance from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).