Latest Resources

29 November 2022

The changing nature of Kenya’s seed sector: lessons from the potato seed industry

In this paper, we discuss the changes taking place in the Kenyan seed sector, with a focus on potato. The changes paint an extremely disturbing picture of how draconian agricultural and seed laws and policies are undermining smallholder farmers and their seed and food systems.  These laws and policies form part of the architecture that […]

30 August 2022

Regulations of Plant Improvement Act and Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, 2018

Please find here ACB’s comments to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development regarding the recently published Regulations to implement the Plant Improvement Act 2018, and the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, 2018. The Department has taken important steps in these Regulations to ensure that certain groups of farmers are exempt from these corporate […]

25 July 2022

The battle over regulation of new breeding techniques in South Africa

– A blog by ACB Director Mariam Mayet Snapshot In October 2021, the South African (SA) government determined that the regulatory and risk assessment framework that exists for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will also apply to new breeding techniques (NBTs), which make up a host of new genetic engineering technologies. This decision appears to follow […]

21 July 2022

Zanzibar’s draconian seed law in the offing. Case study of unabated corporate expansion and contr...

(Tafadhali bonyeza hapa kusoma kwa Kiswahili) This paper provides a critique of the Zanzibar draft Seed Bill that contains provisions set to undermine the rights of smallholder farmers, by marginalising and criminalising their seed systems, while aiding the corporate entry and control of seed and agriculture systems on the Isles.  Adopting Western-style law making, the […]

28 April 2022

The financialisation of malaria in Africa: Burkina Faso, rogue capital & GM /gene drive mosq...

(Veuillez cliquer ici pour lire en français) The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) hereby publishes a new research paper, titled, “The Financialisation of malaria: Burkina Faso, Rogue capital & GM/gene drive mosquitoes.” This paper seeks to understand the financialisation of malaria as a vehicle for rogue capital in a context of a weakened state (through […]

8 March 2022

Coalition demands a ban of Bt Cowpea in Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries

A coalition of non-governmental organisations, farmer groups and research experts from various African countries call on the Nigerian government to revoke the permits granted by Nigeria’s National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, for the commercial release of genetically modified (Bt) Cowpea (PBR-Cowpea). This call was made yesterday in […]

23 February 2022

African Union endorses draconian, undemocratic and corporate captured policy guidelines for seed ...

Veuillez cliquer ici pour lire la version française The African Union (AU) has endorsed the continental guidelines for the harmonisation of seed and regulatory frameworks and the continental guidelines for the use of biotechnology in food and agriculture in Africa, despite fierce resistance from African civil society. On 16 February 2022, we found out that […]

2 December 2021

Organisations around the world collectively take a stand against UPOV

On this day in 1961, a Geneva-based intergovernmental organisation with six European member States took the first step to colonise seeds. The UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden founded the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), setting in motion a strategy to strip communities’ rights to seeds in favour […]

23 August 2021

African social movements demand that AU suspends undemocratic and pro-industry seed and GMO guide...

For over two decades, and in defence of life and democracy, diverse constituencies in Africa have promoted the rights of small farmers and their seed systems, and have expressed and continue to express concern related to the use and governance of modern biotechnology on the continent. We include smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, hunter/gatherers, indigenous peoples, […]

30 July 2021

Seed is power – Reclaiming African Seed Sovereignty: Africans speak out against corporate hegemon...

In rejection of the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), which held its pre-summit this week, civil society, farmers groups and social movements came together for a global counter-mobilisation that spanned four days, with 15 online sessions. One of the webinars, titled Seed is power: Reclaiming African Seed Sovereignty, featured a presentation: Africans speak out […]