A delegation of African faith leaders from South Africa, Liberia, Kenya and Botswana are to present the “Open Letter: African Faith Leaders Demand Reparations from the Gates Foundation” at an online press conference, slated for October 29, 2026, 13:00 West Africa Time (WAT).
The letter, which is signed by 625 faith leaders from more than 20 African countries, calls on the Gates Foundation to take accountability for the alleged harm caused by 20 years of industrial agriculture funding in Africa, and to make reparations by redirecting funding to agroecology and African-led food systems.
Since its launch in 2006, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has received well over US$1.5 billion, about two-thirds of it from the Gates Foundation. Research published in August 2026 by Tufts University and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) found the number of undernourished people in AGRA’s 13 focus countries rose 58%, from 94.6 million in 2004-2006 to 149.6 million in 2022-2024, staple crop yields grew 1.2% a year under AGRA, slightly slower than the 1.3% a year in the 12 years before it began, fertiliser use more than doubled, while millet and sorghum, both drought-tolerant crops, fell from 26% to 16% of cultivated land, Senegal, which was not an AGRA focus country, halved its number of undernourished people while using about half as much fertiliser per hectare as AGRA countries, the organisers said, in a statement.
“African faith leaders first asked the Foundation to stop funding Green Revolution programmes in 2020. The Foundation has not provided a meaningful response. The delegation will formally ask the Foundation to meet them before its next funding decisions for 2026 are made and to respond to the independent research that shows how their investments are not working in Africa”, the statement added.
Speakers at the event would include the Executive Director, Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute (SAFCEI), South Africa, Francesca de Gasparis on ‘Context and Opening Reflection’; Board Chair, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (Liberia), Rev. Dr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah (Jnr) on ‘Evidence on Industrial Agriculture in Africa’; Ulfat Hussein Masibo, Africa Muslims Women’s Action Network (Kenya) on ‘Impact on Women, and Women’s Leadership in Food Sovereignty’; Gorata Ramokgothwane, Botswana Council of Churches (Botswana) on ‘Faith Advocacy at Community Level in Southern Africa’; Dr. Hassan Omari Kinyua, Africa Faith Actors Network for Climate Justice/Muslim Council (Kenya) on ‘Agriculture, Climate Justice and Ecological Vulnerability’; and Food and Climate Justice Manager of SAFCEI, Gabriel Manyangadze on ‘Official Reading of the Letter and Call to Action’.
