Africa: Western-Led Green Revolution Failing Africa

What the report says

A new report cited in an IPS article says the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, or AGRA, is falling short of the goals it set when launched in 2006. The piece was published on Aug. 17, 2026, and is based on analysis by Timothy A. Wise and Jomo Kwame Sundaram. AGRA was created with support from the Gates and Rockefeller foundations and has worked in 13 focus countries.

According to the report described by IPS, AGRA originally pledged to double productivity and incomes while cutting hunger in participating countries, but later dropped those targets and rebranded its work around broader food-system and policy reforms. The article says the latest review finds slower productivity growth and worse hunger outcomes than before AGRA began, despite substantial spending on improved seeds, fertilizer subsidies and related agricultural programs. It also says many small farmers have struggled to adopt the promoted inputs without heavy subsidies, while some have taken on debt when yields did not offset higher costs.

The article further notes that hunger and undernourishment have risen in the AGRA countries covered, while crop diversity has narrowed and production of millet, a climate-resilient staple, has declined. It contrasts this with Senegal, which is not among AGRA’s 13 countries and is described as having reduced hunger through more diversified agricultural policies. The report also says donors have cut back support for AGRA and that the organization is now trying to shape policy on agricultural commercialization and food systems.