Well-funded non-governmental organizations (NGOs) — both in the EU and the U.S. — regularly pour millions of dollars into lobbying African nations into adopting policies that reject modern agriculture. They call it “agroecology,” focusing on promoting “culturally sensitive” practices that glorify subsistence farming.

Meanwhile, farmers’ concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Experts warn that yields will be reduced by 30 to 40 percent due to insects and disease resulting in a smaller and more expensive food supply. As with any other area, African farmers face certain pressures that these activists don’t find in the U.S. or EU, especially given the tropical climate. Farms just aren’t one-size-fits-all.

Unfortunately, African farmers don’t have anyone on their side. Even the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has assisted these NGOs by convincing government officials of these ridiculous and baseless lies. Among the most egregious: that GMOs cause cancer and pesticides make men infertile.

It’s an incredibly frustrating situation. While farmers in the U.S. are making gains on sustainability goals, the rest of the world is plunged in a black hole by these activist organizations. How can we possibly make work to solve tomorrow’s problems when we can’t even have conversations based on the truth?

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