I’ve recently been taken with many arguments of Effective Altruism (EA) and longtermism – a co-movement promulgated by Will MacAskill, amongst others, with the commendable aim of aspiring to affect the most good for the longest period of time. An early observation: the vast majority of (incredibly smart) people in this movement are vegetarian or vegan.
'However, other Gates Foundation-sponsored agricultural interventions have resulted in chronic instability which can take years to become fully evident. A venture jointly funded by the Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation beginning in 2006, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), operates in 11 African countries to institute high-yield monoculture farming. This shift in local agricultural practices is intended to cultivate better nutrition, reduce food insecurity, and improve farmers’ livelihoods, with the stated goals of doubling crop productivity, doubling income and halving food insecurity by 2020. The disadvantages of monoculture farming are well-known, and include soil depletion, increased reliance on specialized products such as seeds and fertilizers, and loss of diversity, but monoculture farming can also produce high yields in a relatively short period. The project’s most recent status report notes that 60% of participating farmers reported increases in income compared to 2017 due to the sale of surplus crops.
Critics based in the project’s target areas, however, have pointed out that AGRA fosters dependence on agricultural corporations for commercial seeds and fertilizer, forcing farmers into debt. Furthermore, food insecurity and low wages persist amongst targeted populations not because of low yields or poor nutrition of native crops, but because local populations are consistently priced out of their own food markets due to low wages and global fluctuations of import and export prices. The project may have even served to further compromise local nutrition as staple crops such as millet, sorghum, and cassava were replaced with more exportable and subsidized cereal grains like rice and corn. With high international crop prices drawing private investment into agriculture, AGRA demonstrates that the introduction of global supply systems to developing economies may generate short-term profits, but whether it reliably leads to long-term stability remains to be seen. Though AGRA’s 2020 goals were not met, and were in fact removed from the project’s website last year, the project is ongoing. African interest groups have petitioned the Gates Foundation and other funders to shift their support toward African-led sustainable ecology efforts instead.'
One additional things to share, for anyone super keen…
From Bismarck Analysis’s piece on the Gates Foundation (https://brief.bismarckanalysis.com/p/the-gates-foundations-blind-spot):
'However, other Gates Foundation-sponsored agricultural interventions have resulted in chronic instability which can take years to become fully evident. A venture jointly funded by the Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation beginning in 2006, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), operates in 11 African countries to institute high-yield monoculture farming. This shift in local agricultural practices is intended to cultivate better nutrition, reduce food insecurity, and improve farmers’ livelihoods, with the stated goals of doubling crop productivity, doubling income and halving food insecurity by 2020. The disadvantages of monoculture farming are well-known, and include soil depletion, increased reliance on specialized products such as seeds and fertilizers, and loss of diversity, but monoculture farming can also produce high yields in a relatively short period. The project’s most recent status report notes that 60% of participating farmers reported increases in income compared to 2017 due to the sale of surplus crops.
Critics based in the project’s target areas, however, have pointed out that AGRA fosters dependence on agricultural corporations for commercial seeds and fertilizer, forcing farmers into debt. Furthermore, food insecurity and low wages persist amongst targeted populations not because of low yields or poor nutrition of native crops, but because local populations are consistently priced out of their own food markets due to low wages and global fluctuations of import and export prices. The project may have even served to further compromise local nutrition as staple crops such as millet, sorghum, and cassava were replaced with more exportable and subsidized cereal grains like rice and corn. With high international crop prices drawing private investment into agriculture, AGRA demonstrates that the introduction of global supply systems to developing economies may generate short-term profits, but whether it reliably leads to long-term stability remains to be seen. Though AGRA’s 2020 goals were not met, and were in fact removed from the project’s website last year, the project is ongoing. African interest groups have petitioned the Gates Foundation and other funders to shift their support toward African-led sustainable ecology efforts instead.'
* https://usrtk.org/bill-gates-food-tracker/agra-donors/