Genetically Modified Africa: Bill Gates’ Guinea Pig Continent

This 2022 investigative documentary, produced by ARTE and directed by Marie-Noëlle Viegas, examines the promotion of genetically modified organisms in Africa, focusing on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's role as a major funder of agricultural experiments through initiatives like the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. It details efforts to modify crops such as cassava for higher yields and resistance to pests, alongside genetic alterations to malaria-carrying mosquitoes, presented as solutions to famine and disease. The 52-minute film interviews African farmers, scientists, and critics who argue these interventions, often conducted with limited oversight, prioritize Western agribusiness interests over local food sovereignty, leading to dependency on patented seeds and chemicals. Through fieldwork in countries like Uganda, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso, it highlights regulatory approvals for GMO cowpea and Bt cotton, ecological concerns like biodiversity loss, and health risks debated by experts, while tracing the foundation's $6 billion in global agriculture grants since 2006.