Latest Resources
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
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 […]
14 May 2025
ACB co-hosts capacity-building workshop on PVP and farmers’ rights in Uganda
Organised in partnership with the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and the Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society (APBREBES), ACB is co-hosting and participating in a capacity-building workshop on Plant Variety Protection (PVP) and Farmers’ Rights, currently underway in Entebbe, Uganda. The workshop, bringing together civil society organisations, smallholder farmers, […]
14 May 2024
ACB’s legacy podcast: celebrating 20 years of resistance against GMOs in Africa
This legacy series provides an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the past two decades of ACB’s advocacy and activism, with a particular focus on resisting the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into our agricultural and food systems in Africa. Our first podcast in the series is hosted by ACB Research and Advocacy Officer […]
10 May 2024
Expansion of gene drive mosquito projects in Africa
International and national biosafety regulations are urgently needed, including the right to say no By Sabrina Masinjila, African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) research and advocacy officer Masinjila can be seen making a statement on behalf of the Convention of Biological Diversity Alliance (CBDA), calling for Parties to support the ongoing work of the Multidisciplinary Ad […]
30 January 2024
No to GM wheat!
Food sovereignty alliance from Latin America, Africa, and Asia approaches seven UN Special Rapporteurs for urgent intervention to block cultivation and trade of GM wheat HB4 To date over 100 organisations endorse this submission. Please note the deadline for endorsements is Wednesday 15 February. PRESS RELEASE 30 January 2024 On 26 January 2024, a submission […]
5 December 2023
Draft Plant Breeders’ Rights and Plant Improvement Act Regulations
Further comments submitted by the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). In November, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) hosted stakeholder consultations in Pretoria and Cape Town on the regulations of the Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) and Plant Improvement (PI) Acts. The ACB was quick to accept the invitation to attend both […]
5 December 2023
UPOV-aligned PVP laws impinge on farmer seed systems
We stand united in our commitment to addressing the pervasive push for the adoption of plant variety protection (PVP) laws in Africa, aligned with the Eurocentric International Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) 1991 model. We continue to declare our unwavering dedication to championing a just and sustainable agricultural future for the […]
28 August 2023
Seed harmonisation in Eastern and Southern Africa
Failures, corporate occupation, and the rise of digitalised seed trade: dire implications for farmer managed seed and food systems in Africa Regional seed policy harmonisation processes on seed and plant variety protection (PVP) legislation have been underway for the past 15 years on the African continent. These have taken place under the auspices of various […]