Global Community
AGRA REVISITED
Dear friends, sisters and brothers all:
I am aware that the question of AGRA and whether or not it deserves our support, has been discussed in the context of a Forum that raised the issue. I do hope, however, that the discussion is not yet closed and that we could legitimately return to it, if we feel so inclined. For us here in Africa, especially Nigeria, the matter is very present an should be further discussed in order to help ourselves fully understand it and what we must do about it. Hence, I am bringing it up as the subject of a new Forum for intensive examination.
AGRA is not just another ‘Help Africa/Save Africa’ programme proceeding out of the deep concern of the global North, with its limitless bounties, for impoverished and fast perishing global South that is unable to rescue itself from a catastrophic fate. What AGRA is must be exposed and I urge all of us in the family to take seriously the task of searching for information on it, analysing and digesting these clear facts of the case and working together to prevent it swallowing our dear continent and, indeed, the entire globe. I will label the Forum:
AGRA REVISITED.
In the interest of joint study, to enhance Unity of Understanding and Action, I shall begin the forum discussion, not with my own analysis drawn from many years of direct confrontation with the problem in its varied presentations, but with information derived from other sources. The information comes in the form of uploaded documents, arising out of the deepest concern for justice amongst nations and particularly between North and South, as well as with Fundamental Rights of peoples to be free to determine their own interests and direction in history, especially in the domain of sovereignty over their most basic need, for wholesome, culturally appropriate and acceptable, sustainable and nature-promoting food and its production. The information provided may already be known to some of us through past exposure to the documents, and I apologise for delaying such people but, in the interest of those who have not been so exposed and the need for us to match together, shoulder to shoulder, brain to brain and brawn to brawn, I plead for patience.
As we digest and internalise the information, discussion would proceed on level ground and we shall avoid intimidating anyone whose wisdom, once supported with adequate information, may be extremely useful for our collective confrontation with this patently negative programme. Let’s get to work.
I am aware that the question of AGRA and whether or not it deserves our support, has been discussed in the context of a Forum that raised the issue. I do hope, however, that the discussion is not yet closed and that we could legitimately return to it, if we feel so inclined. For us here in Africa, especially Nigeria, the matter is very present an should be further discussed in order to help ourselves fully understand it and what we must do about it. Hence, I am bringing it up as the subject of a new Forum for intensive examination.
AGRA is not just another ‘Help Africa/Save Africa’ programme proceeding out of the deep concern of the global North, with its limitless bounties, for impoverished and fast perishing global South that is unable to rescue itself from a catastrophic fate. What AGRA is must be exposed and I urge all of us in the family to take seriously the task of searching for information on it, analysing and digesting these clear facts of the case and working together to prevent it swallowing our dear continent and, indeed, the entire globe. I will label the Forum:
AGRA REVISITED.
In the interest of joint study, to enhance Unity of Understanding and Action, I shall begin the forum discussion, not with my own analysis drawn from many years of direct confrontation with the problem in its varied presentations, but with information derived from other sources. The information comes in the form of uploaded documents, arising out of the deepest concern for justice amongst nations and particularly between North and South, as well as with Fundamental Rights of peoples to be free to determine their own interests and direction in history, especially in the domain of sovereignty over their most basic need, for wholesome, culturally appropriate and acceptable, sustainable and nature-promoting food and its production. The information provided may already be known to some of us through past exposure to the documents, and I apologise for delaying such people but, in the interest of those who have not been so exposed and the need for us to match together, shoulder to shoulder, brain to brain and brawn to brawn, I plead for patience.
As we digest and internalise the information, discussion would proceed on level ground and we shall avoid intimidating anyone whose wisdom, once supported with adequate information, may be extremely useful for our collective confrontation with this patently negative programme. Let’s get to work.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by OLUWASEYIFUNMI KOMOLAFE ARIGBEDE on -
My response too this comes late, but better late than never. I did a bunch of research on AGRA and the So called Green Revolution. I am now going to include excerpts from this posting and some pertinent information I have found online. I have heard about AGRA, however I did not know the damage that this "Green Revolution" has and will cause. I also know now that I must concentrate my efforts on Farming Organizations here in the US that support more holistic approaches to agriculture, and farmer-led programs. Here is a useful link I found:
http://www.blackstarnews.com/?c=122&a=4174
Blessings and Love Daddy:0)
SeyiFunmi
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Permalink Reply by Makanjuola Olaseinde ARIGBEDE on -
My dear Seyi:
The surreptitious manner in which these "we help you escape from your own incompetence" denigrate the Global South and gratuitously abuse our strivings, is not always clear and one must constantly look gift horses, not only in the mouth but in the throat down to the stomach and beyond. The sugar-coated presentation of this "help effort/Aid" coupled with the Armada of heavy weight moneybag agencies and personalities, has taken over our credulous leaders who are all prostrate before the AGRA Trojan horse, pleading for salvation to be brought to their people from outside!! We must remain keenly alert, search a lot, spend otherwise leisure time working to improve our capacity to counter this irrepressible evil, or our patrimony would be ruined. It gives me great thrill to have two daughters joining in the struggle alongside their Papa. May God bless you, my daughter, and since I also bless other members of the worldfamily, noone has any right to be jealous that I devote such prayers to you. Please find a Yahoo or Hotmail or Gmail address and send it to me to serve our private purposes, and very quickly too.
Blessings and lots of love.
Daddy.
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Permalink Reply by OLUWASEYIFUNMI KOMOLAFE ARIGBEDE on
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Dearest Daddy,
I am working diligently to connect with the right "green" agencies to assist in this worthy fight, Yahsmin is sitting right next to me saying :" tell Grandpa I say Hi"
My yahoo email address is: exoticchef3@yahoo.com, I already have you and Irawo on my friends list Daddy, but I will re-send the invitation.
Love always and forever your daughter,
SeyiFunmi:)
Mo fe raan iwo pupo Baba mi O....my Yoruba is not as good as it used to be but I try:)
Love you Daddy, please give the whole family our love.
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Permalink Reply by Louis Loizou on -
Dear Seinde.
Thank you for this comprehensive exposé of the so-called Green Revolution. It is good to have these facts and researches at one's fingertips.
I absolutely agree that it is vital that we educate ourselves and each other by posting such valuable and authoritative material here in this World Family Forum - it may be chaotic, but it is our Kitchen Table (in the North) or Big Tree (in the South).
I have, however "featured" this item so it is introduced on the main page and will try to return more often to see what else needs to be seen.
Our good friend Matt Kemp is going to be publishing the piece which Jocelyn and I worked upon with your input in a slightly shortened form on:
www.walkyourtalk.org.uk in July.
As you will already heard from Jocelyn we had a very successful fund-raiser last weekend in support of the Nigerian campaign against land-grabs for biofuels, and these will continue, hopefully, in the coming weeks.
We hope to attract new members via these events, Matts article and our new UK website:
http://www.worldfamily.org.uk/
and I know that Seyi is keen to get more people in the USA involved.
Jocelyn and I with great support from Nicky Mitchell, our recent enthusiastic addition, are determined to move World Family up several notches, and the signs are good.
All Blessings to my dear brother,
from Louis.
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Permalink Reply by OLUWASEYIFUNMI KOMOLAFE ARIGBEDE on
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I love the uk worldfamily site Louis, I will link the us site to it asap. The UK site gave me some ideas of what to add as well, give thanks.
Blessings,
SeyiFunmi
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Permalink Reply by Louis Loizou on
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Hi Seyi.
Thank you. Hiowever I have had very little to do with this site. Jocelyn and Nicky have been labouring on it.
It has only just begun, and I am hoping to help out to get it fully functional soon so people can donate via paypal and we can begin to build information on all our partners around the world and also build an archive of important materail.
Blessings,
Louis.
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Permalink Reply by Louis Loizou on
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The three of us are working on the UK site at Jocelyn's today. If you are watching this item too, Seinde, we will shortly be asking you to provide certain material under various headings - see:
http://www.worldfamily.org.uk/
for the basic skeleton that is there.
Nigeria is about USMEFAN clearly but needs to be recognisable to the public... and so on..
Blessings,
Louis.
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