SPEECH OF Ms EDWINA JENNY FLATHEN TAYLOR, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF SEEDING AFRICAINTERNATIONAL ON THE SEEDING AFRICA LAUNCH IN LIBERIA ON 28TH JANUARY 2022

Unlike the great Martin Luther King, I did not have a dream, I had the fright of my life when I woke up suddenly frightened and panicking when, I realized that Africa had no viable, INDIGENOUS Organic Foods, seed banks and strong Agroeconomic structure in many countries on the continent to sustain our people in times of hardship.
The bottom line is that the one that controls the seeds, controls the people. We as Africans don’t want and don’t need to be controlled. We are the richest continent on the planet and the bread basket for most western countries. We can take care of ourselves by working together in all 54 countries to create strong and viable African communities. Seeding Africa is an Afrocentric Organization and we strongly believe that only we as Africans can take care of “we” as Africans. So, let’s put our hands and hearts together for the success of this project in Liberia, and other African states, yet to launch, as we are here, (Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria), we cannot do this alone, we need to do this together.
Citing the potential environmental risks to African soils and water sources from too much imported chemical fertilizer being applied to farms, Seeding Africa is urging farmers to use more animal manure, compost and other organic fertilizers. If farmers better integrate stock-raising with crop cultivation, cattle and other livestock could provide them with not only more manure but also with animal traction for ploughing fields and hauling crops after they are harvested. One way to make organic fertilizers more available and affordable is to increase local production. This can reduce costs,  ease the pressure on foreign currency reserves and shorten the supply chain to farmers.
“The food we eat is mostly cheap because it’s a commodity grown in a way that exploits natural capital, diminishes soil fertility, causes emissions that lead to climate change, pulverizes biodiversity and causes rain forest Destruction-You don’t have to pay for such damage”, All we see are GMO engineered foods, full of chemicals, toxicity and endangers the African food security.
Seeding Africa is a non-profit organization that deploys a humancentered-design approach and a Theory of Change to Support the Resilience of livelihoods of Women and young people in Africa through Agriculture.
Founded by Africans on the continent and in the diaspora, Seeding Africa will train, source and supply organic seeds to local farming communities on the continent to enable them to earn a living, feed current and future generations-focusing on 3 main thematic areas that are; i) Organic Farming and ICT as an alternative that women and youth on the continent pursue as a means to their inclusion-Seeding Africa supports the development of Organic farming skills for employability agenda (both core skills and technical) to enhance employability for marginalized women and youth
(including statistical survey, rapid assessments, and baselines), Advocacy and awareness raising to ensure the skills acquired meet the demands of current and future programing; testing and identifying effective approaches to Agriculture employment programming that promotes inclusiveness putting more emphasis on Programs that target marginalized groups (e.g. programs targeting at-risk young mothers, single mothers and victims of
domestic violence).