Knut Olav Åmås for Aftenposten newspaper

Yara, the world’s largest fertilizer producer, an offshoot of Hydro and with the Norwegian State as its main shareholder, has been controversial since it became known that the newly established “Yara Prize for a Green Revolution in Africa” is being awarded to Ethiopia’s prime minister Meles Zenawi. There have been strong reactions from human rights organizations and exile Ethiopians, and around a thousand people demonstrated in connection with presentation of the prize yesterday. Ethiopia is characterized by breaches of human rights, political incarceration, mass arrests and killing of demonstrators.

No Criticism

Criticism was in no way allowed to mark Yara’s celebration of their existence and of presentation of their prize to the head of the government of a country which may become a lucrative market for Yaras fertilizers.

But it was interesting to hear Norman E. Borlaug, the 91-year-old Nobel laureate who was one of the minds behind the green revolution in Asia. He spoke Yara in panegyric terms.

Jeffrey Sachs, economist and leader of the UN’s work to reduce by half the world’s most extreme poverty by 2015, praised Yara’s societal commitment and proud history even more, and called Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi “one of the world’s most brilliant leaders”.

Sachs has himself been advisor to Zenawi, who spoke of him as “my friend”. The only little inkling of criticism of Ethiopian politics was very polite: Sachs asked how to foster democracy in the country and emphasized that the situation was “risky”. In addition he pointed out that it was unnecessary for the security forces, whose job it is to stop demonstrators, to shoot with live ammunition.

No Interest?

Sachs spent only a few hours in Oslo yesterday, because there is a feeling of crisis in connection with the UN’s Millennium program, since the USA is attempting to deny the existence of the millennium goals, and want to sabotage all binding agreements. It was surprising to attend an hour-long press conference with Sachs yesterday morning, at which only two Norwegian journalists regarded it as of any interest to speak to him. Here too he emphasized Zenawi’s reforms, among other things, agricultural productivity has doubled in 15 years. Sachs view is that only an alleviation of poverty and hunger can prepare the way for democracy in Ethiopia. It is probably this view that makes him so evasive in his criticism.

Sachs’ thoughts deserve attention, but it is not to his profit or that of the Yara foundation that the first Yara prize is the cause of debate, since the criticism and Norwegian politicians’ boycott of the presentation have caught Yara with their pants down.

Need Fertilizer

This shows how problematic it is for the world’s largest producer of fertilizer to award a prize for activities which “alleviate hunger and poverty” by increasing food production. For, what is needed to create Africa’s Green Revolution? Fertilizer, as a number of yesterday’s speakers pointed out. From Yara.

It is not always easy to hide “raw commerce” behind “societal responsibility”.

Translated from an article from www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kommentarer/article1108185.ece, updated 04/09-2005

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Translator’s Note:
Any misinterpretations or errors in translation are the sole responsibility of the translator.
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