Latest GM & Biosafety Resources

Will stringent regulation safeguard Africa’s food systems? Across Africa, powerful corporate, donor, and government interests are driving a rapid push to deregulate genome editing in agriculture. Countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso have adopted product-based guidelines that exempt many genome-edited crops from GMO regulation if no foreign DNA is present in […]

In this web post, we trace the push to introduce genetically modified (GM) wheat into South Africa and Africa, beginning with Monsanto’s 2004 application to import Roundup Ready wheat into SA, through to the current ongoing opposition led by the ACB. After Monsanto’s initial application was rejected, there was a long period before further applications […]

In December, the ACB, alongside a coalition of organisations, academics, and unions, submitted a letter of demand to the Minister of Agriculture, Mr John Steenhuisen. This urgent appeal calls for the immediate ban of Terbufos — a highly hazardous pesticide implicated in the tragic deaths of six children in Naledi, Soweto, last year. To amplify […]

Minister Steenhuisen, when can we expect the Registrar to respond? Today marks a year since we called for a review of the registration of 2,4-D in South Africa, in a letter to the Registrar: Act No. 36 of 1947, Mr Jonathan Mudzunga. With no substantive response forthcoming, despite substantiation in a further submission, and persistent […]

17 June 2025 UPDATE: Thank you to all who signed our petition, supporting our call to hold the South African government and chemical industry accountable for the devastating effects of toxic pesticides on our society. Following the South African People’s Tribunal on AgroToxins (SAPToA), which was held in March this year, the three jurors, Judge […]

Annulation de l’autorisation commerciale d’un maïs génétiquement modifié tolérant à la sécheresse Cliquez ici pour lire en anglais. Cliquez ici pour lire en espagnol. Johannesburg, le 22 octobre 2024 Après neuf ans de procédure judiciaire ardue menée par le Centre africain pour la biodiversité (ACB), un collège complet composé de cinq juges de la Cour […]

S’attaquer aux risques, au battage médiatique et aux inégalités qui sous-tendent la biologie générative Click here for the English version. Haga clic aquí para la versión en español. Le Centre africain pour la biodiversité (ACB), en collaboration avec le Réseau Tiers-monde (TWN) et l’ETC Group, a produit une note d’information opportune avant la 16e réunion […]

Afrontar los riesgos, exageraciones y desigualdades de la biología generativa Click here for the English version. Cliquez ici pour la version française. El Centro Africano para la Biodiversidad (ACB), junto con la Third World Network (TWN) y el ETC Group, han elaborado un oportuno documento informativo de cara a la 16ª reunión de la Conferencia […]

Addressing the risks, hype, and inequities underpinning generative biology Haga clic aquí para la versión en español. Cliquez ici pour la version française. The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), together with Third World Network (TWN) and ETC Group, have produced a timely briefing paper ahead of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties […]

 Dear friends and colleagues, The ACB, supported by 18 organisations/networks in South Africa, has made a substantive submission to the Registrar of the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Seeds and Remedies Act 36 of 1947 (commonly referred to as Act 36), to institute a review in terms of section 4 of the Act 36, into the continued […]

 We call on the government to reverse approval of GM wheat into our country Thank you to the 80+ organisations, listed below, who support this ACB submission to the South African Biosafety authorities, the Executive Council (EC): GMO Act, to review and reassess its decision to grant approval for the importation into South Africa of […]

DISASTER CAPITALISM, BIOTECH INDUSTRY IN DECLINE & INSTRUMENTALISATION OF WHEAT IN AFRICA In August 2022, the South African government approved a GM wheat variety HB4 for importation as food, feed, and for the purposes of industrial food and feed processing, following Nigeria’s approval in July. Since then, Argentina and Brazil have been the only two […]