Advertise on podcast: Battle For African Agriculture Podcast

In this episode of the Battle for African Agriculture, Million Belay speaks with Tunisian executive chef and writer Wafik Belaid on food, culture, and sovereignty in North Africa. They explore how the Sahara, spice traditions, and deep regional influences of the Ottoman, Andalusian, Berber, Jewish, and Roman shape Tunisian food. He challenges colonial narratives, urging schools, youth, chefs, and governments to centre local cuisine, support farmers, and preserve authenticity for generations.

In this episode of The Battle for African Agriculture podcast, Million Belay speaks with renowned Kenyan chef Njathi Kabui about African food as culture, resistance, and power. Drawing from his upbringing on a subsistence farm near Mount Kenya and his work across Africa and activism in the United States, Chef Kabui explains how African cuisine shapes identity, health, and sovereignty. He challenges ultra-processed and “programmed” foods, explores food justice and statecraft, and argues that reclaiming African food systems is essential for Africa’s future.

In this episode of The Battle for African Culture, host Million Belay sits down with Chef Sekamotho Mirriam Moteane from Lesotho to explore food as memory, identity, and resistance. From childhood lessons in her mother’s kitchen to documenting disappearing Basotho recipes, Mariam reflects on sorghum, traditional grains, and the cultural knowledge passed down through elders, women, and community rituals. She shares a powerful story of a “wind whisperer,” challenges the dominance of Western food systems, and reminds us that reclaiming food sovereignty begins with valuing our own cuisine. #BattleForAfricanAgriculture #MyFoodIsAfrican #Agroecology #SeedSovereignty #FoodSovereignty

In this episode of the podcast, Million Belay speaks with global food policy expert Timothy A Wise to unpack the failures of the Green Revolution, AGRA’s unfulfilled promises, and Mexico’s powerful stand against GMOs. Drawing on decades of research and his book Eating Tomorrow, Tim reveals how corporate and donor influence continue to shape African agriculture while small-scale farmers offer proven, sustainable solutions. This conversation explores the political forces behind industrial agriculture, the growing evidence of health and environmental risks, and the urgent need to shift toward agroecology and farmer-led approaches.

In this episode of The Battle for African Agriculture, Million Belay speaks with Stacy Malkan a journalist, public health advocate, and co-founder of U.S. Right to Know to uncover how agrochemical corporations have shaped global food systems through propaganda, scientific manipulation, and political influence. Drawing from years of investigative work, Stacy reveals the hidden tactics behind GMO promotion, the health and environmental impacts of glyphosate, the corporate capture of universities and regulators, the lessons from Mexico’s fight to protect native corn, and the growing push to impose similar models in Africa. This conversation offers essential insights for anyone concerned about food sovereignty, public health, and the future of agriculture on the continent.

In this episode of The Battle for African Agriculture, Dr. Million Belay speaks with Professor Michael Antoniou, a molecular geneticist whose decades of work in medical biotechnology give him a rare insider view on the limits and dangers of applying genetic engineering to agriculture. Although he uses gene technologies in tightly controlled clinical settings, he explains why releasing genetically modified and gene-edited crops into the environment is scientifically risky, poorly regulated, and fundamentally different from their use in medicine.

In this episode, Million Belay speaks with Mariam Mayet, founder of the African Centre for Biodiversity, about Africa’s decades-long resistance to GMOs and corporate control of food systems. They trace the history of anti-GMO activism, the rise of philanthrocapitalism, and the failures of industrial agriculture across the continent. Mariam shares powerful insights on protecting Africa’s seed sovereignty and why agroecology rooted in traditional knowledge and small-scale farming is the continent’s path to a just, sustainable, and self-reliant food future.

In this episode of the Battle for African Agriculture podcast, Million Belay speaks with Anne Maina, the National Coordinator of the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA Kenya). Anne shares her journey into advocacy and the work BIBA does to promote biosafety and food sovereignty. She explains how the organization pushes back against the influence of GMOs in Kenya, which are often backed by corporate and philanthropic interests. The conversation covers the health, legal, and policy issues surrounding GMOs in Kenya. Anne stresses that true food security is about access, not just availability. She highlights the importance of legal advocacy, coalition-building through networks like AFSA, and the need for youth and scientists to join the movement. The episode is a strong call to defend Africa’s food systems through agroecology and local solutions.

In this sharp and thought-provoking episode of Battle for African Agriculture, Dr. Million Belay is joined by Dr. Michael Hansen—Senior Scientist at Consumer Reports and globally respected authority on genetic engineering and food safety. Drawing on over two decades of work in policy advocacy and international regulation, Dr. Hansen breaks down the science and politics behind genetic modification, highlighting the risks of GMOs, pesticide reliance, and the corporate control of seeds. He explains how the global push for industrial agriculture—under the guise of innovation—is eroding biodiversity, endangering food safety, and undermining seed sovereignty, particularly in the Global South.

In this episode of The Battle for African Agriculture, Million Belay speaks with theologian and activist Michael Tettey about how colonialism disrupted African spirituality, identity, and food systems. Tettey reflects on the deep ties between indigenous beliefs and traditional food practices, and how missionary churches altered these connections—labeling sacred foods as taboo and weakening communal rituals around food. The conversation explores how colonial religious teachings reshaped African ecological ethics and cultural identity. Together, they discuss the need to decolonize African minds and food systems by reconnecting with indigenous spirituality and values. Tettey emphasizes the importance of youth in bridging traditional knowledge with modern agroecological practices. This powerful conversation calls for a revival of African ethics, environmental responsibility, and community cohesion as key steps toward a more just and sustainable future for African agriculture.

In this hard-hitting episode of Battle for African Agriculture, Dr. Million Belay speaks with renowned activist and economist Raj Patel to unpack the deep-rooted structural forces that drive Africa’s dependency on food imports. From the legacy of colonial trade routes to the enduring grip of institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, Raj lays bare how global trade rules have been rigged to benefit the Global North—leaving African nations rich in arable land paradoxically dependent on imported staples. This is more than a policy failure—it’s a neocolonial trap disguised as development. Raj and Million explore how structural adjustment programs hollowed out local production, how “free trade” continues to undermine food sovereignty, and why agroecology holds the key to a more just and self-sufficient future. With clarity and urgency, Raj calls for a radical reimagining of global trade, spotlighting grassroots resistance and policy shifts that can restore agency to African farmers and communities.

Nnimmo Bassey is one of Africa’s most respected environmental defenders and a leading voice for ecological justice and food sovereignty. An architect, poet, and lifelong activist, he co-founded Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria, led Friends of the Earth International, and now directs the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF). His fearless resistance to oil multinationals and his defense of local communities have earned him international acclaim, including the 2010 Right Livelihood Award. Bassey has spent decades confronting the extractive industries and corporate systems that threaten Africa’s people, ecosystems, and food systems. In this episode of The Battle for African Agriculture, Bassey joins Million Belay for an in-depth conversation on neocolonialism, seed sovereignty, and the growing resistance to corporate capture of African food systems. Together, they unpack the colonial legacy behind industrial agriculture, expose how global corporations continue to shape African agricultural policy, and explore the radical potential of agroecology as both an ecological and political response.

In this second part of Battle for African Agriculture with Professor William G. Moseley, Dr. Million Belay continues a powerful exchange that began in their first conversation. Building on the themes introduced in Part One, Moseley dives deeper into the colonial legacies shaping African food systems and the urgent need to reclaim indigenous agronomy and agroecology. Together, they push the discussion further—examining how political choices, power structures, and global market forces continue to undermine smallholder farmers while highlighting pathways toward food sovereignty rooted in African contexts. This follow-up episode sharpens both the critique and the call to action, offering listeners not only analysis but also hope for a future where African agriculture flourishes on its own terms.

In this thought-provoking episode of Battle for African Agriculture, Dr. Million Belay sits down with Professor William G. Moseley—geographer, author, and outspoken critic of colonial agricultural models—to unpack the urgent need to decolonize African food systems. Drawing from his landmark book Decolonizing African Agriculture, Moseley explains how the failures of food security efforts across Africa are rooted in Western agronomic paradigms imposed through colonial and neocolonial institutions. Through decades of fieldwork in Mali, Burkina Faso, South Africa, and Botswana, he reveals how political power—not just scientific logic—has shaped agricultural policy, often to the detriment of smallholder farmers. Together, they explore the promise of indigenous agronomy and agroecology as not only scientific alternatives but political and cultural acts of resistance. Moseley calls for a bold shift away from top-down, export-driven agricultural development toward locally rooted systems that nourish rural livelihoods, promote ecological health, and support food sovereignty. This episode is both a critique and a call to action—inviting listeners to imagine a radically different future where African food systems thrive on their own terms.

In this enlightening episode of Battle for African Agriculture, Dr. Million Belay is joined by Peter Gubbels, a veteran champion of agroecology and food sovereignty in West Africa. Drawing on decades of work across the Sahel with Groundswell International, Peter unpacks how colonial histories continue to shape the region’s agricultural policies, land use, and governance. From distorted food systems to degraded ecologies, he traces the deep scars left by colonialism—and shows how post-colonial aid and development models often reproduce these injustices under new names. But Peter’s message is far from despairing. He shares powerful examples of grassroots communities reclaiming agency through agroecology, restoring degraded lands, reviving traditional knowledge, and asserting political voice. The episode explores how farmer-led organizing and bottom-up governance can break cycles of dependency, challenge extractive development, and usher in a truly African vision for food sovereignty. Grounded in experience and rich with insight, this conversation offers vital lessons for the entire continent and anyone committed to transforming food systems from the ground up.