The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa launched its podcast “The Battle for African Agriculture” in August 2025, hosted by AFSA General Coordinator Dr. Million Belay. The bold series pulls back the curtain on enduring legacies of colonialism in Africa’s food systems, challenges corporate narratives and amplifies agroecological solutions rooted in justice, biodiversity and food sovereignty.
The podcast recently featured Dr. Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumer Reports who has been sharing his scientific expertise with the organization for more than 20 years. Hansen is recognized as one of the longest serving public interest voices on GMOs, gene editing and food safety issues, with more than four decades of work in US and international regulatory spaces.
Dr. Belay explained he started the podcast to challenge the colonial mindset that still shapes food systems and to elevate voices of those building something better, describing it as “an agriculture of dignity, of ecology, of African knowledge”. He emphasized that “we are in the middle of a war over narratives: Who defines what good agriculture is? Who gets to decide the future of our food?”
Through rigorous analysis and provocative storytelling, the podcast unpacks how seed laws, trade policies and climate adaptation plans are often hijacked by corporate interests while celebrating farmers and movements fighting back with agroecological practices and indigenous wisdom.
Hansen has been vocal about how the United States framed genetic engineering as “no different” from conventional breeding, then attempted to export that view through international bodies to the rest of the world. He has focused on the evolving science of genetic engineering of foods, its politics and labeling for over twenty years, speaking at hearings in Washington DC, several US states and Canada, and preparing comments on proposed governmental rules concerning food safety issues.
The scientist has consistently argued that GMOs did not deliver promised benefits. Instead of drought-proof, nutrient-rich crops for farmers, critics contend the technology produced herbicide-tolerant and pesticide-linked crops that lock farmers into proprietary chemicals, concentrate seed ownership and criminalize seed saving.
Each episode features critical conversations with scientists, civil society leaders and activists working at the intersection of food systems, power and ecology. The series launched with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and TROCAIRE, with new episodes released every Friday across multiple platforms including YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and RSS feeds.
AFSA Chair Hakim Baliraine emphasized how the podcast enhances the organization’s outreach efforts, stating it’s about connecting the dots between biodiversity loss, the climate crisis and the industrial food model while spotlighting agroecology as the path forward.
The podcast series continues exploring critical issues affecting African food systems and agricultural sovereignty, featuring diverse experts challenging corporate control of the continent’s agricultural future while offering alternative visions rooted in local knowledge and ecological sustainability.
