Helping African Farmers - to death!

Food Sovereignty is everyone's responsibility ...

I attended an event at the Congress Centre in Ottawa on March 26 entitled, Green Revolution: Whose Revolution? African farmers had traveled a long way to say that, while they appreciate the money that Bill and Melinda Gates and the Rockefeller Foundation want to throw at African agriculture in a project that is gaining support in Canada's Parliament, they are nevertheless asking that Canada please confer with the farmers before implementation of any such project.

I couldn't believe they actually had to ask this! Isn't it plain common sense? Sadly - and dangerously - where there is money there is not necessarily a coherent plan, but there is seldom any lack of the western sense of superiority.

I don't know how these African visitors are so able to restrain themselves as their intelligence is insulted at every turn. During question period an Israeli student suggested they should send their people to the west for training and then they could go back to Africa and help the local communities. The highly knowledgeable, educated and long experienced African farmers smiled politely. Incredible!

NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) was in attendance. He appeared to listen to the speeches - albeit without discernible reaction - but toward the end he seemed more interested in reviewing the messages on his cell phone, and his seat was empty during question period. Does he already know it all? Was this just a token appearance?

As always, it seems imperative that we the people get our political representatives kick-started on this extremely important issue.

I urge you to familiarize yourself with the issues of "Food Sovereignty" and write to your MP to strongly recommend consultation with African farmers - who alone possess the historical data and the knowledge of what the soil, climate and culture will bear - instead of foisting arbitrary technological solutions where they aren't necessarily required or even wanted.

Mamadou Goïta, one of the panel speakers said it all: "We want to help ourselves." All that's needed is access to financial backing; to be able to get loans, for instance. They don't need shipments of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. They want to do organic farming; they want to use manure as fertilizer; they want to use their own seeds. They can feed their own people if we don't get in their way!

They certainly don't need what's happening to our own farmers, who have been Monsanto-ized to literal death, and now what's left of them are virtual employees of "the man" working for steadily decreasing wages, and fighting to save the Canadian Wheat Board.

Colleen Ross, a Canadian organic farmer and Women's President of the National Farmers Union, suggested that we also write to Melinda Gates to ask her to go and work with the African women farmers, of whom there are many, to find out what is needed in order to properly respect and sustain their agricultural traditions. The audience laughed out loud at the thought of Melinda actually complying, but still it's worth a try. Here's where to write.

Americans, please ask Melinda and Bill and your government representatives not to get behind any program of aid that doesn't consult with the affected people themselves.

As for Canadians, simple is always best when writing to our politicians. "Consult with the African farmers!" plus a link to the information is all that's necessary. You might also add: "Stop BECA" - the big box type of agricultural research facility that the Gates foundation proposes, and that Canada has been wasting money on in Africa - since the days of Jean Chretien - that should have gone to rural development strategies in consultation with local farmers.

The only folks who benefited from all that construction were the contractors. The only people who stand to benefit from the Gates foundation's vision are big pharm and the GM seed companies.

If you take a look at the BECA home page, you'll see an article headline that says a 20 metre buffer zone should stop GM crops from migrating to other fields. Who do they think they're fooling? North American crops are continually inundated with herbicide-resistant "volunteer" or "rogue" crops. These are genetically modified food plants that migrate into other crops and act like weeds.

Our farmers have been forced to buy GM seeds annually. They are not allowed to save their seeds for next year's planting. Another action you can take that can greatly help Canadian farmers is to ask Parliament to ban "Terminator Seeds"