In this opening episode of a 3-part series, Million Belay sits down with legendary activist, ETC Group co-founder Pat Mooney to uncover the hidden history of corporate control over agriculture. From the 1960s to today, Pat traces how seeds once shared by farmers across the world became privatized, patented, and concentrated in the hands of a few powerful corporations. He reveals how the Global South supplied the genetic foundation of global agriculture, only to lose control over it through systems of intellectual property, policy shifts, and what he famously called “biopiracy.” This conversation breaks down the key turning points that reshaped food systems from global policy battles to the rise of seed monopolies and asks a critical question: who really controls our food? This is Part 1 of a 3-part series. In the next episodes, we go deeper into biotechnology, digital agriculture, and the future of corporate power.

In this episode of The Battle for African Agriculture, Million Belay sits down with food systems scholar and activist Professor Molly Anderson to unpack the hidden power structures shaping global agriculture. She draws out linkages from colonial legacies and corporate influence to donor-driven agendas and the politics of food sovereignty. Molly also exposes how dominant narratives continue to shape who controls food, land, and agricultural policy across Africa and beyond. They also explore why the Green Revolution model continues to dominate despite mounting evidence of its failures, how institutions like the World Bank and IMF influence agricultural policy through debt and structural adjustment, and why agroecology is a political struggle for justice, dignity, and power.

In this episode of Battle for African Agriculture, Million Belay talks with Christopher Wali Magala, the Team Leader at Alwana Natural Farms, a veteran farmer and former government Agricultural Extension officer, about his shift from conventional farming to agroecology. He shares how biodiversity, intercropping, and local knowledge transformed his farm in Mukono, restoring soil and ensuring food security. He also boldly challenges the dominant narratives around GMOs and monoculture.