Latest Resources
24 January 2018
Green Innovation Centre in Zambia: Fighting Hunger through Corporate Supply Chains?
The study “Green Innovation Centre in Zambia: Fighting Hunger through Corporate Supply Chains?” is a joint publication by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and African Centre for Biodiversity. It discusses the Green Innovation Centre (GIC) project of the German government, its approach and its impact. The development concept behind the GIC is farming as a business, focusing […]
15 January 2018
Status report on the SADC, COMESA and EAC harmonised seed trade regulations: Where does this leav...
The Status Report on the SADC, COMESA and EAC harmonised seed trade regulations: Where does this leave the regions’ smallholder farmers? researched and written by Linzi Lewis and Sabrina Masinjila of the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), provides a brief background and status update on efforts by regional economic communities to harmonise seed trade and […]
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.
20 June 2016
Green Revolution dead-end in Malawi: Two case studies— AGRA’s Pigeon Pea Project and Malawi’s Agr...
This report that the Alliance for a Green Revolution’s ( AGRA’s) sponsored pigeon pea project in Malawi was a dismal failure and its agrodealer project had some major and fundamental weaknesses. The AGRA pigeon pea project and the Malawi Agro-dealer Strengthening Programme (MASP) were implemented under AGRA’s Soil Health Programme (SHP) and the Programme for […]
2 June 2016
Integration of small-scale farmers into formal seed production in South Africa
The scoping report looks at key policies, legislation and programmes in SA with an emphasis on seed laws and considers the implications for small- scale farmer involvement in this sector and outlines a few projects on community seed production, indigenous crops and black- owned private sector seed production efforts.
4 May 2016
Changing Seed and Plant Variety Protection Laws in Tanzania – Implications for Farmer-Manag...
Seed legislation is under review in Tanzania with a view to changing this in order to further expand the role of the private sector in the commercial seed sector. This law reform is mainly targeted at the seed marketing laws (Seed Act of 2003 and its regulations of 2007) and revision of its Plant Breeder’s […]
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 […]
3 April 2016
Africa to lose heritage crops to multinationals ‘donating’ GM technology
The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), in a new report titled, “For your own good!” The chicanery behind GM non-commercial ‘orphan crops’ and rice for Africa shows that the GM industry is expanding its grasp to African traditional crops such as cassava, sorghum, sweet potato, pigeon pea, cowpea, banana as well as rice under the […]
4 December 2015
The expansion of the commercial seed sector in sub-Saharan Africa: Major players, key issues and ...
Sub-Saharan Africa’s seed systems are undergoing a profound transition, with the private sector leading the way. This report outlines some of the major trends and activities of the major players involved in this, from Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the broader donor community.
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.