Breaking Free from Exploitative Agriculture: Uplifting Smallholder Farmers for True Food Sovereignty
First and foremost, a profound thank you to Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao for her candid, thoughtful, and unfiltered truth about Africa’s economic reality. She has not only spoken boldly and fearlessly, but she has also laid bare the deception of foreign aid, the illusion of Global North "investment," and the ongoing theft of Africa’s wealth. Her words are not just an analysis. They are a wake-up call to disengage from decades of economic servitude. Listen to her interview on Aljazerra. https://youtu.be/5mFSRb5dUOM?feature=shared
For far too long, Africa has been deliberately trapped in a web of dependency, woven by the deceptive promises of foreign aid, predatory investment, and externally imposed agricultural policies. Institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, IFC, and Western sovereign wealth funds portray themselves as partners in development while operating as financial gatekeepers that maintain Africa’s economic dependency and restrict its sovereignty. Alongside them, export credit agencies, foreign aid organizations, multinational agribusiness and mining corporations, Western-controlled trade organizations, development finance institutions (DFIs), philanthropic foundations, regional development banks, foreign-controlled infrastructure financing bodies, and multilateral economic agreements further entrench external control over African economies, ensuring that wealth flows outward while local industries remain underdeveloped and resource extraction continues unchecked. Their real objective has been to ensure that Africa’s vast wealth, fertile lands, and human labour remain under foreign control.
Ambassador Chihombori-Quao has, for years, courageously exposed this grand deception, dismantling the myth that Global North "investment" is meant to uplift Africa. In reality, these interventions exist to sustain a system of subservience, strip the continent of its economic sovereignty, and maintain Africa as a perpetual supplier of cheap resources to the West.
The Alliance of Sahelian States (AES), comprising Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, now stands at the forefront of Africa’s economic resistance and is boldly challenging the status quo. This newly formed bloc is more than a political alliance. It is a direct rejection of Western economic domination and a blueprint for total disengagement from exploitative global financial systems.
By reclaiming control over agriculture, trade, and industry, the AES has the potential to lead a seismic shift in Africa’s economic trajectory. If it successfully severs the economic shackles of the Global North, it will not only secure its own future but also light the path for the entire African continent to follow.
I invite you to watch Ambassador Chihombori-Quao’s powerful interview, where she breaks down these truths with precision and passion. Her message is clear. Africa does not need aid, nor does it need predatory investment. What Africa needs is control over its own destiny.
The AES is proving that this is not just a dream. It is an unfolding reality. The question now is: Will the rest of Africa rise to meet this moment?
The Global North’s Investment Fallacy: Paternalism Disguised as Development
These aforementioned financial ‘gatekeepers’, operate under the pretence of helping Africa. But in reality, their so-called "assistance" is simply a way to control policies, extract wealth, and ensure continued dominance over Africa’s economic and agricultural systems.
Their key strategies include:
1. Debt-Based Control Through predatory Loans
Result: Countries are forced to prioritise loan repayments over actual development, ensuring they remain under the thumb of foreign financial institutions.
They are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are using that open access, sounding humanitarian, to constantly destabilize government.
2. Agriculture as a Tool for Economic Subjugation
Result: Africa, despite having the most arable land in the world, imports food from Europe and North America, fuelling dependency rather than self-sufficiency.
What they don’t tell you is that Africa, through exploitation of its resources by the Europeans, was actually a much, much bigger contribution to the European recovery post-World War II.
3. Extractive Agriculture and the Disenfranchisement of Smallholder Farmers
Why does such a continent that did so much to help Europe recover continue to be so poor?
How AES Can Lead the Agricultural Transformation of the Sahel
The Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) comprised of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, has a historic opportunity to redefine agriculture, trade, and industry in the region. With regards to agriculture, the AES can lead Africa toward a self-sustaining, sovereign economic system by implementing the following bold and necessary changes:
1. Reject CO?-Intensive Food Imports and Prioritize Local Production
?? Stop importing highly subsidised, long-journey, carbon-intensive food from the EU and North America.
? Invest in a widespread network of smallholder farmers, fostering domestic food production through traditional and regenerative agricultural practices to ensure self-sufficiency. This approach directly uplifts tens of thousands of small-scale farmers, working collectively within thriving agricultural ecosystems that restore soil health, enhance biodiversity, and strengthen local economies.
?? Example: Instead of importing wheat, dairy products, and processed foods from France, AES nations can scale up indigenous grains like fonio, millet, and sorghum which are highly nutritious, drought-resistant, and culturally embedded in West Africa. Also expand local dairy production through smallholder cooperatives and developing food processing industries that utilize native ingredients for value-added products.
Similarly, the heavy import reliance on vegetable oils and processed dairy products from the Netherlands can be reduced by scaling up local oil, shea butter production, and plant-based dairy alternatives such as cashew and soy-based milk. Strengthening regional dairy cooperatives can also help meet domestic demand while creating rural employment.
Belgium is a significant exporter of frozen meats and processed foods. These imports could be replaced by locally raised livestock, poultry, and fish farming. Coupling this with investments in cold storage and local meat processing facilities would further strengthen food sovereignty. Additionally, replacing imported frozen potato products with cassava, yams, and sweet potatoes, which are widely grown in the region, can help build a resilient and self-sufficient food system while reducing reliance on European supply chains.
By strengthening domestic agricultural value chains, enhancing food processing capabilities, and promoting regional trade, AES nations can cut import dependency, boost food sovereignty, and create generational wealth for smallholder farmers and agribusinesses across Africa.
2. Ban Foreign-Controlled Patented GMO Crops
?? End the use of patented GMO seeds that force farmers to repurchase seeds every season and destroy traditional seed banks.
? Rebuild national seed sovereignty by investing in local seed-saving programs and ensuring all smallholder farmers have access to non-patented, indigenous seeds.
?? Example: Mali already has some of the strongest anti-GMO policies in Africa. The AES must go further by legally protecting smallholder farmers’ rights to save and exchange seeds without corporate interference.
3. Shift to Regenerative Agriculture & End Soil-Depleting Chemical Dependency
?? Stop the promotion of synthetic chemicals (fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides) pedalled by Global North corporations.
? Scale regenerative smallholder farming practices that restore soil health, increase biodiversity, and eliminate dependence on synthetic foreign inputs.
?? Example: The introduction of agroforestry, cover cropping, and bio-fertilizers can revitalise degraded lands, improve net-profits, and create a truly sustainable agricultural system.
4. Reclaim Agricultural Trade from Western Control
?? Break away from French, American, and European agribusiness firms that control African exports and supply chains.
? Develop AES-controlled agricultural processing industries to ensure raw materials are processed and packaged locally for pan-African consumption and full-value export markets.
?? Example: Instead of Mali exporting 97% of its raw cotton (Bangladesh, India, Vietnam)? AES countries should produce finished textiles locally, keeping jobs and profits within the region.
5. Make Smallholder Farmers the Foundation of Economic Growth
?? Stop favouring large foreign agribusinesses that displace local smallholders.
? Fund cooperatives, decentralised processing hubs, and direct-to-market digital platforms that put farmers in control of pricing and trade.
?? Example: A blockchain-based vegetable market in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger could ensure smallholder farmers serve B2C and B2B markets without anonymous predatory intermediaries.
Challenging False Dichotomies Perpetuated by the Global North
A fundamental obstacle to Africa’s agricultural and economic sovereignty is the persistence of false dichotomies perpetuated by transnational agribusiness conglomerates shaping investment priorities, development strategies, and food systems. These binary narratives distort reality, limit policy choices, and sustain dependency on external markets. AES nations must actively dismantle these false narratives to reclaim control over their agricultural future.
Here are five key false dichotomies that must be openly challenged:
1?? Smallholder Multi-crop Farmers vs. Industrialised Agriculture
False Claim: Large-scale, industrialised monoculture is the only way to achieve food security, while smallholder farmers are inefficient and unproductive.
Reality: Smallholder multi-cropping systems contribute significantly to global food production. Smallholder farms, typically under two hectares, produce about 35% of the world's food while using only 12% of agricultural land. However, when considering family farms of all sizes, which include both smallholders and larger family-run farms, they collectively sustain 80% of global food production. Smallholder multi-cropping systems achieve higher yields per hectare than industrial monocultures due to intensive land use, intercropping, and biodiversity benefits. Strengthening them through technology, market access, and financial inclusion is essential for building resilient, food-sovereign economies.
2?? Imported “High-Yield” GMO Crops vs. Indigenous Crop Systems
They are destroying African agriculture by introducing those GMOs. You plant your seed in one season, your soil is finished.
False Claim: Africa must depend on imported, genetically modified (GMO) seeds to increase yields and feed its population.
Reality: The push for GMO crops in Africa stems from the damage caused by decades of European-imposed mono-cropping and synthetic chemical farming, which depleted soils, ravaged biodiversity, and weakened crop resilience. GMOs are promoted as "solutions" for food security, drought tolerance, and pest resistance, but they create smallholder farmer ‘global north’ dependency on patented seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides, further eroding self-sufficiency. In contrast, multi-cropping, biodiverse smallholder farming systems naturally restore soil health, improve resilience to climate extremes, and reduce the need for external inputs. Strengthening these regenerative farming practices over corporate-controlled GMOs is essential for Africa’s food sovereignty and long-term sustainability.
3?? Agricultural Export Growth vs. Domestic Food Security
False Claim: African nations must focus on exporting cash crops like cocoa, coffee, and cotton to generate economic growth.
Reality: Over-reliance on export markets fuels food insecurity and deepens economic vulnerability by displacing smallholder farmers through large-scale land acquisitions by industrial agribusinesses. These corporate-controlled farms prioritise cash crops for export, diverting fertile land and resources away from local food production, leaving African nations dependent on costly food imports. This imbalance weakens food sovereignty, exposes economies to global commodity price fluctuations, and entrenches cycles of rural poverty.
As biodiverse smallholder agriculture is abandoned in favour of monoculture plantations, youth are forced to migrate en masse to urban centres and even abroad, seeking opportunities no longer available in their own communities. The loss of sustainable, diversified rural livelihoods accelerates urban overcrowding, unemployment, and economic instability, further eroding Africa’s ability to feed itself and sustain its workforce.
Strengthening domestic food systems and prioritising regional trade over export dependency ensures that African-grown food nourishes African people first, while still allowing for strategic, smallholder farmer-led exports that uplift smallholders rather than dispossess them. A shift towards regenerative, biodiverse smallholder farming models will not only restore food security but also revitalise rural economies, create employment, and stem forced migration.
4?? Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) vs. Locally Led Agribusiness Models
The average African leader can afford to provide those services for their people. It is a joke. It is embarrassing to see African leaders continue to be beggars of peanuts while allowing billions to get out of their country year in and year out.
False Claim: Africa needs foreign investors and multinational agribusinesses to modernize its agriculture.
Reality: Africa does not need external corporations to dictate its food systems. A thriving agricultural economy must be built on locally owned agribusiness models that empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), smallholder farmers, and African agripreneurs. Cooperatives, farmer-led processing, and decentralised food networks foster resilience, create jobs, and ensure economic gains remain within Africa rather than being extracted by foreign investors.
However, systemic barriers continue to block access to capital for African agripreneurs and SMEs, limiting their ability to scale, innovate, and compete. Investment must prioritise African-led solutions by removing financial, regulatory, and market constraints that hold back local and diaspora capital from flowing into Africa’s agricultural sector.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) must be restructured to serve African interests, ensuring that capital strengthens domestic value chains, expands local processing industries, and builds infrastructure that supports long-term food security and economic independence. By aligning investment with local priorities and dismantling the systemic constraints on African agripreneurs, Africa can establish a self-sustaining agricultural economy that uplifts its people rather than enriching external entities.
5?? Industrial Supply Chains vs. Decentralised, Transparent Value Chains
False Claim: African agriculture must integrate into global supply chains to be efficient and competitive.
Reality: Industrialised, long-distance supply chains are fragile, CO?-intensive, and exclude smallholder farmers from wealth generation. Instead, AES nations must build shorter, decentralised, tech-enabled value chains that connect smallholder farmers directly to urban markets, regional trade hubs, pan-African markets and digital commerce platforms. This will ensure fair prices, reduce food waste, and retain profits locally, regionally and continentally.
Reclaiming Africa’s Agricultural Narrative
To transform African agriculture, AES nations must expose and reject these false narratives and replace them with an investment and policy framework that prioritises African solutions:
? Strengthening smallholder farmers through technology, market access, and investment—rather than replacing them with industrialised monoculture.
? Scaling up indigenous, climate-resilient crops instead of relying on imported foods and patented seeds.
? Prioritising food security, food sovereignty and regional trade over exploitative export markets.
? Building African-owned agribusiness models instead of handing control to foreign investors.
? Developing decentralised, transparent, and regenerative value chains instead of locking into extractive industrial supply chains.
This bold, unapologetic shift is necessary for Africa’s food and economic sovereignty. Only by breaking these false dichotomies can Africa truly feed itself—on its own terms.
The Future of the Sahel Must Be Built on Economic Sovereignty
The Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) is Africa’s best hope for economic independence.
If AES nations successfully:
? Disengage from Western agricultural exploitation,
? Ban synthetic chemical inputs and GMO dependency,
? Rebuild local food systems based on regenerative farming,
? Seize control of their agricultural trade policies,
…then they will become the blueprint for the rest of Africa to follow.
Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao is right—Africa does not need aid, nor does it need predatory "investment" from Western institutions.
What Africa needs is economic sovereignty, agricultural self-sufficiency, and a commitment to breaking the chains of exploitation once and for all.
The AES is the beginning. Will the rest of Africa follow?
Call to Action
What are your thoughts? How can Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger dismantle the stranglehold of foreign agribusiness and financial institutions while building a self-sustaining agricultural economy that resists corporate capture and external dependency? Let’s discuss.
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