Environmentalists blame Gates for ecosystem degradation

Environmentalists representing communities across Africa are blaming Bill Gates and his foundation for the degradation of their natural ecosystems.

- Jarryd Westerdale

The Gates Letter Campaign has been a continent-wide effort to halt the financing of industrial agriculture, on the premise that it undermines smallholder farmers and food sovereignty.

Signed by roughly 600 faith leaders, the group renewed their fight against agro-philanthropy with the signing of a fresh open letter aimed at the Microsoft founder.

The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) coordinated the local call for reparations, which was followed by Wednesday evening’s official launch of a new open letter.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was instrumental in the founding of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) in 2006, which SAFCEI and others say has had a negative effect.

“Agra’s bold vision to double the yields and incomes of smallholder farmers and halve the number of people in hunger has simply not worked,” the letter says.