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, 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.

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 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.

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.