africa: A NEW GREEN REVOLUTION IN AFRICA?

Is it true that the best way to fight hunger, protect the environment and reduce poverty in Africa is by relying on Green Revolution crop varieties, and using more imported farm chemicals, plus genetic engineering and free trade? This is precisely what powerful institutions in Washington and elsewhere are prescribing for the continent, yet each of these elements could actually worsen, rather than improve conditions for Africa's poor majority. The chapters of this publication challenge the persistent myths that underlie elite "solutions" for Africa. Each chapter illustrates that another Africa is possible, as delegates declared in 2002 at the African Social Forum in Bamako, Mali. The study - developed through years of research at the Institute of Food and Development Policy and the University of California at Berkeley - presents the first comprehensive analysis of the Green Revolution in Africa, combining perspectives from hundreds of local project leaders, policymakers, academics, and social justice advocates.