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Most African countries are consequences of colonization, neo- or re-colonization, and structural adjustment programs are visible. There is a growing number of poor people living in rural areas without basic public services like water, health services and education, while the main urban centres are showing a concentration of wealth in the hands a small group of people. The suburbs are becoming more crowded than ever, and everyday life is a big challenge.
If we look at the kind of agriculture policies that are being proposed for our countries today, we do not find any reason to believe that there is real interest in tackling the root causes of poverty or in promoting broad-based rural development. The economic structural adjustment programs have severely weakened our agriculture economies. And now, the Economic Partnership Agreements are a weapon that has the potential to destroy our local markets for agriculture products. While the green revolution may result in increased production of a few food items, it is not without its social and environmental costs. There is considerable evidence that the green revolution benefited those farmers who could afford the technology, at the expense of poor farmers who could not.
This led to increased landlessness as poor farmers became indebted and lost their holdings, increased migration to the cities and the paradox of increased hunger. Despite the claims of increased food production, widespread hunger still persists in the countries in which it was implemented, although a number of them have food surpluses for significant exports. The irony of our global economy is that food flows through trade from areas were people are hungry toward areas where there is money. |
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