Latest Resources
29 January 2018
Celebrating smallholder farmers and seed diversity in South Africa: Report from the national seed...
On 8 and 9 December 2017 the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) hosted a national seed dialogue and celebration at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Farmer representatives from eight provinces, along with civil society organisations, academics, and officials from the Agricultural Research Council and Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) participated in cultural events and […]
22 January 2018
Art, Seed Sovereignty and Activism: Weaving New Stories
Preparing for the National Seed Dialogue and Celebration, hosted by the African Centre for Biodiversity, smallholder farmers, activists and government officials are crowded into the atrium of the Women’s Jail at Constitution Hill and a drum is beating. A performer, Simo Mpapa Majola, dressed in blankets, is praying and singing and imploring the audience. He […]
13 November 2017
Smallholder farmers score victory at international ‘Seed Treaty’ meeting
A landmark decision on the establishment of an Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group to realise farmers’ rights was recently taken by the seventh session of the Governing Body (GB7) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA; also known as the ‘Seed Treaty’). There was stiff opposition from countries from […]
16 October 2017
Is transformation on the Horizon?
Someone asked my son when he was about three years old, ‘What is your father’s job?’ He said, ‘Sibseba’, which in Amharic means ‘meetings’. This was because every time my son used to ask me where I was going, I used to tell him to sibseba. At the time, I was coordinating the Ethiopian civil […]
27 September 2017
Seed sovereignty for Peasant Farmers in Malawi blocked by emerging national seed policy
The government of Malawi is poised to adopt a draconian National Seed Policy that blocks peasant farmers’ opportunities to secure and strengthen farmer-managed seed systems (FMSS), and which would undermine farmers’ rights and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, to which Malawi is a Party. An ad hoc stakeholder policy […]
25 August 2017
Seed capture in South Africa: A threat to seed freedom but the seed movement is fighting back
Simangele Siko, a member of the central committee at Izindaba Zokudla, in her thanks to ACB after the workshop said, “The farmers have got power, immense power, but you have just unearthed the power!” Who can claim to own a seed? In these kernels lie the genetic wisdom of millions of years, co-created within specific […]
4 August 2017
Local seed varieties are essential for sustainable food systems … but face challenges
Smallholder farmers in Mozambique want access to a diversity of quality seed, but not exclusively from the formal sector. Farmers highly value their own varieties and want to work on enhancing these, too. These strong messages came out of a dialogue held between smallholder farmers, government officials and research institutions in Chimoio, Manica Province in […]
21 June 2017
Food Systems of the Future Public Talk
The ACB in partnership with Wits Inala Forum had the honour of hosting Pat Mooney, Donna Andrews, John Nzira and Stephen Greenberg at a public talk at Wits University on the 12th of May 2017, in the light of the three mega mergers taking place. The title of the talk was “Food Systems of the […]
5 May 2017
Factsheets: ARIPO: Harmonisation of Plant Variety Protection in Africa
This final factsheet in our series gives an outline of the ARIPO PVP Protocol and its implications. English | French | Portuguese | Shona | Swahili To read all the factsheets in this series, click here. If you’re new to Genetically Modified (GM), click here to download and read some of the fact sheets we’ve […]
5 May 2017
Factsheets: SUI Generis Laws for PVP/PBR Protection
In this factsheet you can read about the World Trade Organisation and the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement. English | French | Portuguese | Shona | Swahili Read the next factsheet in the series, here.