Bill Gates Uses Philanthropy and Foreign Influence to Shape African Laws and Food Systems

Across Africa, Bill Gates is facing growing backlash, not for his tech innovations, but for the far-reaching influence of his philanthropic empire on the continent’s agriculture, health, and even governance. What began as billion-dollar efforts to alleviate hunger through modern farming tools and health investments has evolved into a coordinated campaign of economic dependency, environmental harm, and political overreach.

Through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates has committed billions of dollars over the past two decades to programmes that promote industrial agriculture, genetically modified seeds (GMOs), and commercial farming inputs, primarily through initiatives such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

While the foundation claims it aims to fight hunger and boost productivity, many on the ground say the results tell a different story.

AGRA and the Problem with “Green Revolution” 2.0

Launched in 2006 with backing from the Gates Foundation, the AGRA aimed to modernise African agriculture. The initiative focused on introducing high-yield hybrid seeds, synthetic fertilisers, and agrochemicals to millions of smallholder farmers.

But almost two decades later, the results are deeply contested. A 2020 Tufts University report revealed that AGRA had failed to meet its own goals, notably, no significant reduction in hunger or poverty across the 13 African countries where it was most active. In some regions, hunger worsened.

AGRA promotes a high-cost, high-input model that leaves farmers vulnerable,” said Timothy Wise, lead author of the Tufts study. “It’s benefitted companies more than communities.

Farmers who adopted AGRA’s packages often found themselves locked into cycles of debt, unable to afford the annual cost of patented seeds and fertilisers. Traditional practices, such as seed saving, were abandoned in favour of externally sourced materials, often tied to multinational firms like Bayer and Syngenta.

Farmers can no longer save seeds from one harvest to the next. They are being forced to buy them every year, which drives them into debt and strips them of control over their farming practices.

Undermining Food Sovereignty

Groups such as the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) argue that Gates’ programmes undermine agroecological farming, a method rooted in indigenous knowledge, biodiversity, and sustainability. Instead, AGRA promotes monocultures and chemical inputs that deplete soil, reduce resilience to climate change, and erode cultural food systems.

What African farmers need is control over their land and seeds, not dependency on imported technologies.

The foundation’s model enforces a top-down system that excludes farmers from decision-making while positioning private foundations and agribusinesses as the primary architects of Africa’s food future.

In addition to economic impacts, environmental groups have warned that the excessive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides promoted by AGRA and Gates-funded programmes is degrading African soils and harming biodiversity.

Farmers who switched to monocultures and synthetic inputs have seen initial yield gains taper off, followed by soil exhaustion, pest resistance, and reduced resilience to climate shocks.

The Question of Accountability

Perhaps the most contentious aspect of Gates’ agricultural agenda is the concentration of decision-making power in the hands of a few global actors, with little involvement from African communities.

Gates is not accountable to any African government, parliament, or people. His influence is distorting agricultural policies in favour of foreign corporations and undermining democracy.

The foundation, however, maintains that it is supporting science-based solutions to increase food security and adapt to climate change.

As AGRA’s impact comes under renewed scrutiny, a growing coalition of African NGOs, farmer unions, and scientists is calling for a shift away from externally driven agricultural agendas. Instead, they are demanding investment in agroecology, land rights, and farmer-led innovation.

Food security won’t come from billionaire-driven blueprints. It will come from empowering farmers and protecting local food systems.

Influence Beyond the Farm

The controversy escalated dramatically in July 2025 when West Africa Weekly published a brochure showing that NGOs linked to Bill Gates, MI6, and the CIA are directly involved in drafting Nigerian legislation.

The leaked materials reportedly reveal that foreign-backed NGOs and consultants have helped shape bills related to:

• Food safety and agricultural regulation
• Public health and biosecurity
• Tax and subsidy policies
• National security

This is not just lobbying, it is the literal writing of our laws by unelected foreign actors, the publication said.

The Gates Foundation, although not named as the author of the laws, is reportedly a key funder of several of the listed organisations. The Nigerian government has not officially denied the report, and the involved NGOs have remained silent, further fueling public concern.

Adding to the breadth of influence,  West Africa Weekly reports that Babatunde Fashola, former Lagos State Governor and Minister, has been appointed to the board of Resolve to Save Lives Nigeria (RTSL Nigeria), a health NGO funded almost entirely by the Gates Foundation. Since opening its Abuja office in 2022, RTSL Nigeria has received $46.5 million from the Gates Foundation as part of its total budget of over $96 million.

Fashola’s board membership exemplifies a broader pattern in which former public officials are enlisted into foreign-backed bodies, effectively bridging state apparatus and private philanthropic agendas. This is “philanthro‑capitalism,” a system where unelected billionaires and their networks wield disproportionate influence over public health policy and governance.

Fashola’s advocacy credentials, stemming from his role during Nigeria’s 2014 Ebola response, are often cited in support of his appointment. Still, many remain sceptical, noting that RTSL Nigeria partners with 14 government bodies and 28 NGOs (including foreign advocacy groups), shaping policy through financial influence.

This is a pattern that goes beyond philanthropic overreach and veers into state capture, where foreign interests co-opt public institutions to serve private or geopolitical agendas.

When billionaires and intelligence-linked NGOs draft your food and tax laws, it’s no longer democracy. It’s corporate colonialism.

This phenomenon threatens not only Nigeria’s policy sovereignty but also its food security, health independence, and long-term democratic resilience.

Bill Gates’ role in African development is no longer just about philanthropy. As the Gates Foundation expands its reach into policy, regulation, and lawmaking, the lines between aid and influence have become dangerously blurred.

Whether through AGRA’s failed promises or silent partnerships in Nigeria’s legislative processes, one reality is becoming increasingly clear:

Africa’s food future is being shaped by forces far beyond its borders, and not always in its interest.

As more revelations emerge, it is time for African-led, community-driven systems that prioritise sovereignty over sponsorship and control.

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