Latest Resources
7 November 2025
Trump, tariffs & AGOA: Where to for Africa’s food and agriculture systems?
Recent geopolitics, the imposition of Trump’s tariffs, and the expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) have brought Africa’s trade and related matters into sharp focus, particularly for export-oriented sectors such as agriculture. For over two decades, AGOA has provided eligible sub-Saharan countries in Africa with duty-free access to the US market. Thus, […]
4 November 2025
Huge Constitutional Court victory for ACB and GMO decision-making
Press release The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), with great relief, welcomes the decision of 11 Judges of the Constitutional Court of South Africa (SA), who, on 4 November 2025, dismissed with costs, an application for leave to appeal filed in November 2024, by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; the Director-General, Department of […]
3 November 2025
Addis Ababa Declaration on Biosafety Concerns regarding Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Engin...
From 30 September to 1 October 2025, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), together with the Movement for Ecological Learning and Community Action (MELCA) Ethiopia, co-hosted a two-day workshop on biosafety concerns regarding artificial intelligence and genetic engineering in agriculture and food systems. The workshop, held in Addis Ababa, was well attended by government officials, […]
30 October 2025
The Plant Treaty and the proposed amendments: What every farmer needs to know
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, also known as the Plant Treaty, governs the conservation and sustainable use of seeds and other planting materials used for food and farming. Among other things, it has established a Multilateral System (MLS) to facilitate access to seeds for crop research and development, and […]
19 September 2025
Webinar: Revision of the Access and Benefit-Sharing System of the FAO Plant Treaty
Proposals and positions for 11th Session of Governing Body The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), Third World Network (TWN), and the Swiss Foundation for Cultural and Genetic Diversity (ProSpecieRara) warmly invite you to a webinar on Revision of the Access and Benefit-Sharing System of the FAO Plant Treaty: Proposals and positions for 11th Session of […]
11 September 2025
Farmers’ rights, farmer seed systems under threat by Enhancement of Multilateral System of Access...
ACB, as part of a broader collective, has submitted a letter to the African government officials who will be negotiating on proposals to amend the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) at its next Governing Body meeting in Lima, Peru, in November 2025. Thank you very much to those who […]
1 September 2025
South Africa’s plant breeders’ rights laws undermine farmers’ rights to seed and lock out farmer-...
In this briefing, we deal mainly with the Regulations made in terms of the Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) Act, No. 6302, on 13 June 2025, and particularly the exemptions to breeders’ rights, through the lens of understanding the impact on the realisation of farmers’ rights to seed and farmer-managed seed systems (FMSS). We discuss the […]
28 August 2025
CVAB welcomes Burkina Faso’s decision to terminate “Target Malaria” project
Press Release Ouagadougou, August 22, 2025 Target Malaria is a research consortium led by Imperial College London, which receives core funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to apparently eradicate malaria in Africa. The first phase of its project in Burkina Faso has been a dismal failure, involving the release of GM mosquitoes. We […]
26 August 2025
Historic turning point for South Africa’s Pesticide Policy Framework: Department of Agriculture h...
Press release: UnPoison Network Stellenbosch, 26 August 2025 In a landmark moment for agricultural reform and environmental justice, the National Department of Agriculture convened a historic Colloquium on Pesticide Policy Framework last week, bringing together government departments, farmer associations, scientists, civil society, industry, labour, farmworkers, and human rights organisations in an unprecedented, multi-sectoral dialogue on […]
26 August 2025
We don’t need genome editing to ensure Africa’s food sovereignty
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 […]