Latest Agribusiness Resources
14 March 2017
ACB Submission to Competition Commission on Bayer Monsanto merger
This submission is made by the ABC because of serious public interest concerns about the proposed merger between Bayer and Monsanto. This merger is occurring in the context of other related mergers in agricultural input supply, between ChemChina-Syngenta and Dow-Du Pont. We urge the Commission to consider the wider implications of these mergers beyond a […]
READ13 February 2017
Bayer-Monsanto merger: An existential threat to South Africa’s food system
In December 2016 Monsanto shareholders voted in favour of the sale of the company to Bayer for US$66 billion, making it the largest-ever foreign corporate takeover by a German company. Both Bayer and Monsanto are major global manufacturers of agrochemicals and seeds, including genetically modified seed. A merged entity would be the world’s largest supplier […]
READ13 December 2016
Agroecology versus Industrial Agriculture
These graphics, captured in an easy to read and visually informative manner, illustrate the stark difference of practices and values between the current industrial food system and agroecological food systems. It is clear that the industrial model is unsustainable, lacks nutrition, destroys livelihoods, and is an unsuitable model as we move into an increasingly uncertain […]
READ29 August 2016
N2 Africa, the Gates Foundation and Legume commercialisation in Africa
This report considers the N2Africa programme, which aims to develop and distribute improved, certified legume varieties (soya, common bean, groundnut and cow pea); promote and distribute inoculants and synthetic fertiliser; and develop commercial legume markets for smallholder integration in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana (core countries); Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic […]
READ9 March 2015
White men meet in London to plot ways of profiting off Africa’s seed systems
A meeting is to be held in London on 23 March by predominantly white men, with a sprinkling of Africans, some of whom represent private seed companies, to discuss how to make a killing off Africa’s seed systems. Farmers and civil society organisations have not been invited to the meeting, which will be attended only […]
READ3 December 2014
Who owns our food systems: Who owns our maize?
It is shocking that in South Africa a handful of very powerful cooperations control how and what we eat! Download this factsheet: English | Afrikaans | Sotho | Zulu To read the rest of the fact sheets in this series, click here.
READ3 December 2014
Who owns our food systems: Small-scale farmers and the maize value chain
Small-scale maize millers cannot compete with the major millers who control and dominate the industry. What are the alternatives for small-scale farmers who want to make a living from their land? Download this factsheet: English | Afrikaans | Sotho | Zulu To read the rest of the fact sheets in this series, click here.
READ3 December 2014
Who owns our food systems: Fixing the price of food
Between 1999 and 2007, Tiger Brands, Pioneer Foods and Premier Foods fixed the price of bread and maize meal, two of our staple foods. The poorest people in South Africa, who depend on these foods for their daily meals, were the hardest hit by the price fixing. Download this factsheet: English | Afrikaans | Sotho […]
READ3 December 2014
Who owns our food systems: Is our pap safe?
Many governments have banned and restricted GM foods. It is shocking that our government allows us to eat risky GM maize as the staple food in South Africa! Download this factsheet: English | Afrikaans | Sotho | Zulu To read the rest of the fact sheets in this series, click here.
READ3 December 2014
Who owns our food systems factsheet series
Download our Who owns our food systems factsheet series in English, Afrikaans, Sotho, and Zulu.
READ25 November 2014
Who owns our food system?
It is a matter of urgency that we break up these cartels that have South African consumers, especially the poorest of the poor, in a vice grip through control of our two staple foods ? maize and bread. South Africans eat about 28 billion loaves of bread and, on average, about 100kg of maize and […]
READ8 October 2014
Acquisition of Africa’s SeedCo by Monsanto, Groupe Limagrain: Neo-colonial occupation of Africa’s seed systems
The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is deeply concerned about the recent acquisitions by multi-national seed companies of large parts of SeedCo, one of Africa’s largest home-grown seed companies. Attracting foreign investment from the world?s largest seed companies, most of who got to their current dominant positions by devouring national seed companies and […]
READ