"Corporate-driven Agriculture would increase Inequality in Africa"

African agriculture is at cross-roads. The sector recently has been the subject of revitalization efforts by world leaders, but they have met with very little success. Indeed, their efforts actually exacerbate inequality by promoting the role of corporates at the cost of millions of small scale farmers, with women as the worst hit. Large corporations are profit-driven, and they will use their unfair advantages to maximize their bottom line. Small farmers hardly stand a chance once governments and corporations are aligned...

The New Alliance is a partnership in which stakeholders commit to specificpolicy reforms and investments, outlined in Cooperation Frameworks, that accelerate implementation of African country food security strategies, launched in 2012 by the G8 (now G7) and implemented in ten African countries. It follows similar initiatives such as GROW Africa, and is based on the simplistic assumption that corporate investment in agriculture will increase production to improve food and nutrition security and reduce poverty. This logic completely neglects the fact that food and nutrition security means consistent access to a diverse and nutritious diet, which will not be achieved simply by increasing food production. Moreover, much of the production supported by the New Alliance is exported and/or non-food crops with relatively low nutritional value. The New Alliance prioritises the private sector and the creation of large commercial farms while ignoring the vital role of small farmers and food producers in providing food and improving income.