Agroecology advocates have called on African governments to redirect funding away from industrial agriculture and towards sustainable farming practices.
They also urged international financial institutions to stop financing land grabs and agribusiness giants and instead focus on building sovereign African-led food systems.
Million Belay, General Coordinator, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) has pointed out the necessity for a pan-African coalition to challenge the financial structures that underpin industrial agriculture.
"We need a united front to track financial flows, expose where the money is going, and push for policy advocacy to discourage governments from entering into agribusiness deals," he said.
"This will also help strengthen farmer movements and amplify their voices."
Belay defined agroecology as more than just a farming method but as a broader movement for sovereignty, justice, and independence.
"The fight against industrial agriculture is a fight for economic freedom. We must challenge industrial agriculture financing at all levels, as the future of African food systems is in our hands,” he said.
Speaking at the "Shifting Financial Power: Defunding Industrial Agriculture, Redirecting Funding to Agroecology" meeting organised by AFSA and Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA), Belay noted that Africa is rich in resources, yet it is still being exploited.
"Africa is one of the wealthiest continents in terms of natural resources, biodiversity, and agricultural potential. Yet it remains financially and economically exploited due to neo-colonial systems of extraction," he said.
He explained that industrial agriculture, a major vehicle for financial extraction, disproportionately benefits corporations, international financial institutions, and foreign governments rather than local African farmers.
Belay noted how colonial agricultural policies forced Africa into a cash-crop economy, favouring exports over local food production. He also pointed out how colonial rulers seized vast tracts of land, displacing communities and forcing smallholder farmers into labour for European settlers.
"After independence, the same structures persisted, only the owners changed. International financial institutions pressured African countries to adopt industrial agriculture models, promising economic growth," he explained.
The Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1980s and 1990s exacerbated the situation, forcing African governments to privatize agriculture, reduce subsidies for small farmers, and open markets to cheap foreign imports, ultimately collapsing local food systems.
Belay stated that industrial agriculture is a system of financial extraction that benefits only global agribusiness giants, multinational banks, and political elites.
"The losers are small-scale African farmers, local economies, the environment, and African governments trapped in debt cycles and unfavourable trade deals," he said.
According to Belay, agroecology is not just about farming; it is a movement for food sovereignty that rejects colonial food systems. The core principles of agroecology include farmer-led seed systems, ecological farming practices, localized food economies, and community resilience.
AFSA actively promotes agroecological solutions through initiatives such as farmer-managed seed systems, promoting African agroecological entrepreneurship, and advocating for territorial markets, among other efforts.
"We are integrating agroecology into climate policies and working towards an African food policy," Belay said.
Anne Maina, National Coordinator of BIBA Kenya, noted the need for a shift in funding priorities.
"The current financial system overwhelmingly favours industrial agriculture," she said. "This extractive, monoculture-driven model undermines our food sovereignty, depletes our soils, and erodes the resilience of our farmers."
Maina listed the environmental and social costs of industrial agriculture, saying, "Despite the overwhelming evidence of agroecology’s benefits for climate resilience, biodiversity, and nutrition, financial flows continue to prop up industrial agriculture at the expense of people and the planet."
She called for actionable steps to disrupt the financial systems sustaining industrial agriculture.
"Over the next three days, we will develop a roadmap to shift financial flows toward agroecology and create a campaign strategy that nurtures our soils, sustains our livelihoods, and secures our food systems," she said.
Maina noted the need for collective action.
"We must understand where the money is coming from, who controls it, and how we can shift those flows," she said.
"Farmers and communities deserve investment, and we must work together to push donors, governments, and financial institutions to prioritise funding for agroecological transitions."
She concluded with a call to action: "We must build stronger alliances, amplify our voices, and ensure that decision-makers hear us. Africa’s future is agroecological, and we will not allow destructive industrial agriculture to dictate our destiny."
