Analysis On Rockefeller Foundation’s Agricultural Aid Towards Black Africa(1952-1972)

As a civil organization, since its inception, the Rockefeller Foundation in line with the purpose "for the benefit of all humankind", has done a lot of work for the development of the world. Since the early1950s, the Rockefeller Foundation through the form of funding and the dispatch of scientific experts, do a lot of work in the improvement of Black African crop varieties, livestock diseases control and agricultural technical talent training, having made certain achievements and promoted the modernization of Black African countries. However, due to the extremely weak economic foundation of Black Africa, the decision-making errors and not enough attention of local government, limitations of activities of the Foundation itself, and other factors exist, the black African agricultural projects of the Rockefeller Foundation may not be effective as its Mexico plans and India plans.With the Rockefeller Foundation as one of the increasingly far-reaching international NGOs’perspective in today’s world,this paper will firstly give us an overview of the rise to glory and its overseas activities of the Foundation,and then probe to agricultural its projects in Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda and Nigeria and other Black African countries during1952-1972,in-depth and detailed analysis,at last strive to make an objective evaluation on cooperation projects and make a proper analysis of agricultural development in the plight of black Africa today. Therefore, I do not surmise shallow to be rough combing and analysing the problem, and hope the academia help me with a lot of advice.Body of the paper consists of four chapters. The first chapter describes the rise of the Rockefeller family, the creation of the Rockefeller Foundation, a brief overview of the experience of the Rockefeller Foundation’s activities in the underdeveloped areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America,and the focus of the achievements of its overseas agricultural projects and inadequate. It made certain contribution for solving the shortage of food in thoses underdeveloped regions, but the actual activity is still subject to complex and the usual unpredictable social, economic and political factors.The second one detailedly depicts the agricultural cooperation activities of Rockefeller foundation in sub-saharan Africa. It not only directly funded Black Africa region of crop variety of improvement and livestock and poultry disease prevention and control work, but also aided the construction of international agricultural research centres, pay attention to training African local agricultural talents and higher education development of agriculture.The third one is a case study conducted by the Rockefeller Foundation to support Kenya’s agricultural and educational development. It not only provided a lot of fund to Siriba Agricultural College and Egerton Agricultural College, but also sent a number of experts in collaboration with the Kenya natives in wheat research.The fourth one is a concluding part of this article, not only an objective summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the Foundation’s Black Africa agricultural projects, but also having discussed the plight of today’s Black Africa’s agricultural development restricting the Foundation’s activities process. The agricultural aid of Rockefeller Foundation, which has lots of innovativeness and risk, is not only conducive to the popularity of new ideas, but also contributed to the local agricultural technical personnel training in Black Africa. However, because of the extremely weak economic foundation, the local governments’ decision-making errors and insufficient attention, coupled with the presence of activity limitations of the Foundation itself, the effect of its Black Africa Agricultural Aid is not particularly obvious, and some of their behavior selfish tendencies have been repeatedly criticized.The remaining discussion is about the relationship between the Foundation’s Black Africa agricultural projects and U.S. post-war policy towards Africa. We can say that the Rockefeller foundation’s Black Africa agricultural aid are consistent with the policy of the United States towards Africa in the general direction, but there is no lack of contradictions and distance.