J-Charles Zeus Sossou

Agro-économiste, Agroécologiste, activiste climatique et relativement sur des questions du développement durable

[AFSA @Afsafrica]

In this episode of The Battle for African Agriculture, the second part of a three part series, Dr. Million Belay speaks with Pat Mooney, member of the IPES-Food, co founder and former director of ETC Group - Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, IFOAM Ambassador, and chair of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Continuing their conversation, Pat reflects on how new technologies are repeatedly introduced as solutions while often creating new forms of dependence. He argues that this is not accidental but part of the economic logic of capitalism, where each new technology is designed not only to replace an older one but also to maintain control over markets and customers. From that perspective, he sees gene editing not as a genuine break from GMOs, but as a logical extension of the same trajectory of manipulating life for commercial control.

The discussion then turns to Africa, where Pat Mooney warns that governments are under pressure to loosen biosafety laws and open the door to technologies presented as modern and necessary. He links this pressure to Africa’s land, climatic diversity, rich genetic resources, and rapidly growing population, all of which make the continent attractive to powerful commercial interests. He also addresses synthetic biology and the growing ability of companies to replace crops such as vanilla, cocoa, coffee, and tea with laboratory produced substitutes, shifting value away from farmers in the South toward industrial production in the North. For Pat, the core issue is not simply the novelty of the technologies themselves, but who controls them, who benefits from them, and who gets to decide whether they are safe, useful, or harmful.

Pat Mooney also offers a wider critic of digital agriculture and the growing role of big tech companies in farming, warning that firms such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft approach agriculture not as a living system but as another field of data to capture, process, and monetize. At the same time, he insists that digital tools could still be useful if they remain in the hands of farmers and communities, helping them share knowledge, monitor weather, respond to pests, and strengthen agroecological systems. He contrasts this with what he calls “high tech,” controlled from above, and “wide tech,” rooted in the collective intelligence of farmers working within their own ecosystems. The episode closes with a powerful story of resistance, as he recounts the global campaign against Terminator seeds, where farmers, civil society, and social movements came together to defend the moratorium and stop a technology that would have forced farmers to buy seed every season.

Listen to the full conversation:

YouTube:
https://t.co/6KAuolb4HI
Spotify: https://t.co/t4IUSKrJUy
Apple Podcast:
https://t.co/fMiIg08fG2

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

🧑🏿‍🌾La Jeunesse Africaine engagée pour l'Agroécologie,pour une Souveraineté Alimentaire et Semencière;une Agriculture vivante et juste pour la liberté et les droits des communautés et pour une Afrique résiliente.
#SeedIsLife
#MaSemenceMaVie
#Youth4Agroecology
#AFSA #SSN #EcoImpact

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

Du 12-16 Août 2025, les jeunes unis à travers le continent au centre SSN pour défendre,comprendre,se renforcer, protéger, conserver et valoriser les semences paysannes en Afrique.
#SeedIsLife #MaSemenceMaVie
#SouverainetéAlimentaire #SouverainetéSemencière
#AFSA #SSN #EcoImpact

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

Renforcement des jeunes sur les enjeux, lois et cadres réglementaires sur les semences par les Aînés Experts.Nous avons appris à analyser et à définir les actions en faveur des systèmes semenciers paysans.
#SeedIsLife #MaSemenceMaVie
#SouverainetéAlimentaire
#AFSA #SSN #EcoImpact

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

🧑🏿‍🌾🪏Visite découverte de la banque de semences Communautaire de Kikopey. Et l'animation du panel sur l'impact des lois sur les semences,les Agriculteurs,la Biodiversité et sur les Jeunes.
#SeedIsLife #MaSemenceMaVie
#SouverainetéAlimentaire
#AFSA #SSN #EcoImpact

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

Un esprit sain dans un corps sain. Des exercices physiques et des jeux psycho-pedagogiques avant chaque début de'activité. Une manière de traduire la leçon en simulation.
#SeedIsLife #MaSemenceMavie
#AFSA #SSN #EcoImpact

[Agripowa @agripower_on]

Les jeunes d’Afrique unis pour protéger nos semences. Du 12 au 16 août 2025, le Kenya accueille une grande formation rassemblant des jeunes engagés de tout le continent pour défendre nos semences locales et notre biodiversité.
#SeedIsLife

[AGRIDIGITALE @agridigitale1]

Redonner aux jeunes africains les moyens de défendre les systèmes de semences paysannes https://t.co/g43v2Jlvyi @Afsafrica #Kenya

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

🍃Sublime découverte pratique. Valorisation des semences en atelier pratique sur le Perlage.
Combien on peut se faire beau ou belle en portant les bijoux faites avec les semences. Un potentiel à exploiter.

#SeedIsLife #SSN #AFSA #EcoImpact

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

🌍🧑🏿‍🌾🪏La Jeunesse pour la souveraineté semencière.
La Jeunesse pour la Souveraineté Alimentaire
#SeedIsLife #SSN #AFSA #EcoImpact

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

🧑🏿‍🌾🪏Une belle Sortie pédagogique à la ferme de l'ambassadrice des semences paysannes de Seeds Savers Network, Mme Béatrice à Langa langa pour découvrir les bonnes pratiques de conservation des semences paysannes et des pratiques Agroécologiques.
#SeedIslife #SSN #AFSA #EcoImpact

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

Nous jeunes appelons à l'intégration de l'AgroEcologie dans les politiques locales, à un meilleur accès aux ressources, a l'éducation et au financement ainsi qu'à leur pleine participation à la gouvernance et aux dynamiques de marché.
#JI_Jeunesse2025
#SeedIsLife #AFSA #SSN

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

Célébration de la journée Internationale de la Jeunesse ou Je participe activement à une activité de Renforcement de capacité des jeunes sur les Semences au centre Seeds Savers Network Gilgil au Kenya.
#SeedIsLife
#MaSemenceMavie
#AFSA #SSN #EcoImpact

[J-Charles Zeus Sossou @JCZeus1]

Célébration de la journée Internationale de la Jeunesse ou Je participe activement à une activité de Renforcement de capacité des jeunes sur les Semences au centre Seeds Savers Network Gilgil au Kenya.
#SeedIsLife
#MaSemenceMavie
#AFSA #SSN #EcoImpact

[AFSA @Afsafrica]

Amplifying Youth-Led Local Agroecological Actions for Sustainable Development https://t.co/282BlGtSLT

[AFSA @Afsafrica]

𝐀𝐅𝐒𝐀 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐧-𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲

The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is proud to announce the continent’s first African Chefs Gathering and Policy Convening on African Food Systems, set to take place in Addis Ababa from 23–25 July 2025. Organized under the banner of “My Food Is African”, AFSA’s flagship Pan-African campaign, the event aims to spotlight traditional African cuisine as a powerful catalyst for cultural revival, public health, and ecological sustainability.

In response to the growing threat of industrialized diets and fast food that erode Africa’s culinary heritage and drive malnutrition and environmental harm, this gathering seeks to reclaim the future through the wisdom of the past.

Chefs from over 20 African countries will showcase indigenous ingredients and prepare traditional dishes while collaborating with farmers, policymakers, and food activists to co-create a shared vision for African food sovereignty.

Since its launch in 2022, the “My Food Is African” campaign has grown into a continent-wide movement aimed at reconnecting communities with indigenous food systems, resisting the corporate control of African diets, and amplifying the voices of those who nourish the continent—farmers, cooks, women, and youth.

At the culmination of the gathering, chefs and policymakers will converge to forge a collective voice, strategic direction, and joint commitment toward food systems rooted in justice and agroecology.

Be part of this movement! Follow the outcomes of the event and add your voice online using the hashtags #MyFoodIsAfrican and #Chefs4Agroecology.

READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE
https://t.co/mGxVWbSmo3

[PELUM Uganda @pelum_uganda]

@pelum_uganda at @Afsafrica's Training of Trainers on #Agroecological Enterprise Sustainability!
From June 17–20, 2025, @pelum_uganda joined country teams from Zimbabwe, Ghana, Tunisia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Togo for a Training of Trainers organized by @Afsafrica in Uganda.

[Million Belay @Million_Belay]

Today we have kicked off a 3-day meeting bringing together different stakeholders, including activists, researchers, academia, farmers, and international allies, to develop a comprehensive roadmap for a continental campaign that will disrupt financial flows to industrial agriculture, promote and amplify funding for agroecology, develop concrete advocacy actions and strengthen partnerships and collaboration to coordinate efforts in shifting the financial landscape in favour of agroecology.
The legacy of colonialism remains deeply embedded in African agriculture today, with industrial agriculture serving as a major tool for financial exploitation. This system primarily benefits corporations, financial institutions, and foreign governments rather than African farmers and communities.

Colonial policies prioritized cash crops over food production, while land grabbing and unfair Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) weakened local food systems. As a result, global agribusiness giants, foreign investors, banks, and political elites continue to profit often at the expense of small-scale farmers, local economies, and the environment. This exploitation has led to severe consequences, including soil degradation and water depletion, further threatening Africa’s agricultural sustainability.

Agroecology stands as a system of resistance that rejects colonial food building a strong movement for sovereignty, justice, and true independence. We must challenge industrial agriculture financing at all levels. Updates of this meeting are being shared on #FundAgroecology.

[Charles Kolou @charleskolou]

@JCZeus1, Un jeune togolais aide les #agriculteurs à tirer profit de #agroécologie

https://t.co/r0EF6ZYmZo

[Million Belay @Million_Belay]

AFSA’s Vision for a Just Transition in Africa’s Agri-Food Sector Amid the Climate Crisis
I just back from Baku, Azerbaijan, where I had the privilege of participating in the @UNFCCC #COP29.

While I plan to reflect on my experience and @Afsafrica involvement at a later date, today I wanted to share something specific—a presentation I gave during a side event organized by the European Economic and Social Committee.

I must admit, I wasn’t deeply familiar with the concept of a “just transition” prior to this event. However, through my readings and preparations, I gained valuable insights, which I incorporated into my presentation. Read the details here
👉https://t.co/wxAwrjESKK

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
#COP29Azerbaijan #Agroecology4Climate #COP29Baku