The Last Seed
Our most vital resource is facing its greatest threat
About the film
Embark on a cinematic odyssey through the heart of Africa's modern-day food and agriculture saga in The Last Seed. Through a symphony of evocative music, mesmerizing dance, and captivating visuals, the film delves into the profound themes of seed sovereignty and the delicate balance between humanity and the planet.
Witness the struggles and triumphs of African small-scale food producers as they navigate the complex web of science, politics, and economics surrounding the corporate capture crisis. Enlightening insights from experts shed light on the perilous state of our food systems and the urgent need for change.
However, amidst the challenges, there is hope. Meet the agroecological farmers who, with wisdom and resilience, embrace sustainable and adaptable agricultural practices. Their testimonies resonate with wisdom worth exploring, offering a glimpse of a better way forward.
As the film reaches its crescendo, it leaves us with an uplifting finale. Senegalese women rise up, fueled by unwavering determination to safeguard their seeds and indigenous knowledge for future generations.
The Last Seed challenges us with profound questions for our time: what have we lost, and who can show us the path to a more harmonious relationship with our planet?
Filmmaking Team
ANDRÉA GEMA
Andréa Gema is a South African filmmaker who has worked in the film and advertising industry for over 10 years, taking a special interest in making sure complex stories are told in an engaging and refreshing way. Having volunteered with multiple NGOs throughout her life, she readily took this opportunity to combine her film skills with the hope of change, by depicting this important story for both African and international audiences to see.
JAN URHAHN
Jan Urhahn coordinates the Food Sovereignty Programme of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung in Johannesburg, South Africa. He mainly works on topics such as farmworkers’ rights, the impacts of hazardous pesticides, seed ownership, and Green Revolution approaches versus viable alternatives such as agroecology.
REFILOE JOALA
Refiloe Joala is the Food Sovereignty programme manager in the Southern Africa Regional Office of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is particularly interested in the nature and outcomes of changing agro-food systems within the context of growing corporate control in Southern Africa, and she also works on seed sovereignty and farmworkers’ rights in the region.
FAMARA DIÉDHIOU
Famara Diédhiou has over 15 years’ professional experience working mostly in rural development in African countries, particularly in the establishment of community seed and cereal banks, organising women’s groups for urban-rural partners. As West Africa based program officer under the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), Famara Diédhiou is active in various networks to advance the food sovereignty struggle and African driven solutions.
Producers and partners
ROSA-LUXEMBURG-STIFTUNG (RLS)
The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (RLS) is an internationally active, progressive non-profit organisation for political education. One of the six major political foundations in the Federal Republic of Germany, the RLS is closely linked to Die Linke, the German Left Party. Since its founding in 1990, the RLS has been engaged in the analysis of social processes and developments. Through its teams in 27 regional and country offices, the RLS works with hundreds of partner organisations, political actors and individuals in over 80 countries. One of the topics the organisation is engaged in is food sovereignty. The aim of the RLS's work is to strengthen emancipatory political forces.
ALLIANCE FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN AFRICA (AFSA)
The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is a broad alliance of different civil society actors that are part of the struggle for food sovereignty and agroecology in Africa. It is a network of networks and currently with 35 members, active in 50 African countries. The core purpose of AFSA is to influence policies and to promote African solutions for food sovereignty. AFSA serves as a continental platform for consolidation of issues pertaining to food sovereignty and together marshal a single and louder voice on issues and tabling clear workable solutions.
BIOWATCH SOUTH AFRICA
Biowatch South Africa challenges the industrialised food system and demonstrates and advocates agroecology as a means of ensuring biodiversity while attaining food and seed sovereignty and social justice. Established in 1999 as an environmental justice NGO, Biowatch works with smallholder farmers in rural South Africa, with government, and with civil society organisations in South and Southern Africa to secure smallholder farmers’ rights and ensure that people have control over their food, agricultural processes and natural resources within a biodiverse and sustainable system. Biowatch resists corporate appropriation of natural resources. Much of our own work, and our work with others, is focused on changing the discourse around, and the disconnect between, the destructive industrialised food system and the devastating impact this is having on our planet and the life we share it with.
PELUM TANZANIA
Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM Tanzania) is a network of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working with smallholder farmers and livestock keepers in promoting participatory ecological land use management in Tanzania through learning, networking and advocacy. PELUM Tanzania envisions prosperous smallholder farmers deriving livelihoods from ecological agriculture.
