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09.06.2015 |

Africa's farmers fight the corporate takeover of seeds, land and food

Lured by promises of aid and investment, African governments are rewriting laws to create lucrative opportunities for corporate agribusiness, writes Chris Walker - while consigning their own farmers to servitude and landlessness. But now farmers are rising up, as in Ghana where a new 'Monsanto law' threatens to end their right to grow, save and share their ancestral seeds.

"We, the small holder farmers, want to have good lives," says Victoria Adongo from the Peasant Farmers' Association of Ghana. "We have our seed systems that we like and are proud of. So we do not want multinational companies to come in and take over."

Not only can agroecology increase Africa's farming yields, unlike corporate-led farming, it can help farmers control their land, seeds and livelihoods, and build resilient local economies.

Adongo, speaking in Global Justice Now's new short film Whoever Controls Seeds, Controls the Food System (https://youtu.be/pWKfg0d63SA) - launched this week - is explaining what could be at stake if Ghana's parliament passes new seed laws backed by G8 governments.

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