Latest Resources

13 January 2017

Hands OFF Our Food Systems! Small Farmers NOT Corporates Feed Africa

This lobby paper Who will feed Africans: Small-scale farmers not corporations! produced by the partnership between FoEA and ACB, makes the compelling case for African agriculture to transition towards agroecology and food sovereignty, recognising and strengthening the role of small scale farmers, rather than benefiting few large scale corporations with detrimental ecological, socio-economic, and nutritional […]

29 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 […]

13 July 2016

Soil fertility: Agroecology and not the Green Revolution for Africa

This synthesis report summarises ACB’s research on the Green Revolution push in Africa, based on fieldwork conducted in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe over the past three years. The research indicates that the promotion of synthetic fertiliser use in Africa is only a short-term fix for enhancing soil fertility on the continent. In the […]

11 July 2016

Farm Input Subsidy Programmes (FISPs): A Benefit for, or the Betrayal of, SADC’s Small-Scale Farm...

This paper reviews the farm input subsidy programmes (FISPs) within countries belonging to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), to ascertain whether input subsidies have benefited small-scale farmers, have increased food security at the household and national levels, and have improved the incomes of small-scale farmers. Download the report.

18 April 2016

Zimbabwean smallholder support at the crossroads: Diminishing returns from Green Revolution seed ...

This scoping report is published jointly by the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB and the Zimbabwe Small-Scale Organic Farmers’ Forum (ZIMSOFF). The report focuses on government and donor farm input subsidy programmes (FISPs) and seed aid in facilitating the spread of Green Revolution technologies and raises questions about who really benefits from these programmes. It […]

9 November 2015

Which way forward for Zambia’s smallholder farmers: Green Revolution input subsidies or agroecology?

In this report, we provide a critique of the Green Revolution Farmer Input Subsidy project in Zambia, looking at its impacts particularly for small holder farmers and their seed systems.

2 September 2014

Africa an El Dorado for South Africa’s Agribusiness Giants

South African agribusinesses are aggressively expanding into Africa in search of profits from a relatively untapped consumer market with rising income levels and to escape the country’s negative economic conditions. This paper traces this expansion and outlines the implications for Africa’s market structure, food security and food sovereignty movements, as well as exploring the potential […]

18 November 2013

Giving With One Hand and Taking With Two: A Critique of AGRA’s African Agriculture Status R...

The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has released a comprehensive critique of a report published by the African Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The analysis of AGRA’s African Agriculture Status Report 2013 reveals that AGRA’s vision is premised on Public-Private Partnerships in which African governments will shoulder the cost and burden of […]

15 May 2012

Big Business Drives SA’s Biofuels Programme

In late February 2012 leading figures from the fossil fuel industry met in Pretoria to forge ahead with the government’s highly controversial plans for an SA biofuels industry. The catalyst for this meeting was the publication by the government last September of draft regulations for the mandatory blending of biofuels in the nation’s fuel supply. […]

8 September 2010

The dirty politics of the global grain trade – GM maize farmers face ruin in SA

Recently, the South African press reported on the possible bankruptcy faced by maize farmers. The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has today released a new report titled “The dirty politics of the global grain trade – GM maize farmers face ruin in SA” which provides an analysis of why South Africa’s record 13 million ton […]