This credulousness is puzzling. Munk’s book covers only a sliver of the first half of a 10-year project, and only two of 12 villages. And she never “lived for extended periods in the Millennium Villages.” Munk spent an average of around six days per year – around 36 days over six years – actually visiting the villages, and usually at a stretch of 2-3 days. Moreover, she came to the story as a reporter for the magazine Vanity Fair, with no training or experience in public health, agronomy, economics, or African development.
Worse, Munk’s observations frequently seem to have been, at the very least, greatly exaggerated for narrative effect. Does Gates really believe that I advocated specific crops without worrying about whether there was a market for them, or that I failed to consider national taxation in my ongoing advice to government leaders? Moreover, the agricultural strategies and choices in the MVP have been led by African agronomists, some of the very best in Africa – often working hand in hand with Bill’s own agricultural staff in the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
