AGRA is an ambitious program led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan to eliminate problems of food security throughout the African continent. It's goal is to help countries in Africa create sustainable farming practices that help communities produce their own food. By focusing on all aspects of food production such as the necessary seeds, soil, marketing, finance, and policy, AGRA's comprehensive programs also initiate job growth.
While this may be an example of a top-down approach to change (the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are its founders) it is African led and practiced. By giving the financial and research support necessary for such an endeavor, but leaving the decision-making to the various countries and farming communities in Africa, I think that this is the beginning of a respectful approach to a solution. I believe that this is an example of modern technology and traditional place-based knowledge coming together to forge new ideas. It fosters an atmosphere of mutual recognition and doesn't place the importance of one over the other.
Visit the website for more information, news updates, job or fellowship applications, and stories from the people themselves!
http://www.agra-alliance.org/
-Dana Lofgren
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