Latest Resources
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 […]
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 […]
2 February 2017
Against the odds, smallholder farmers maintain agricultural biodiversity in South Africa
This report is a result of research conducted in partnership with Tshintsha Amakhaya, Farmer Support Group, TCOE Zingisa and Surplus People Project. The report investigates the state of farmer-managed seed systems in rural South Africa. Through three case studies in Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the report highlights both the fragility and perseverance of […]
5 October 2016
Farmer-managed seed systems in Dowa, Malawi: A legacy of eroded confidence and agricultural diver...
This report is the product of field work conducted by ACB and Kusamala Institute for Agriculture and Ecology in Dowa district in central Malawi. The objective of the research was to deepen our understanding of the role of farmer seed varieties in smallholder production systems that have come under heavy pressure from concerted Green Revolution […]
16 September 2016
Mapping farmer seed varieties in Manica, Mozambique: initial investigations into agricultural bio...
This scoping exercise to deepen our understanding of the current context of seed use, main crops and varieties in the research localities in order to gather evidence of the ongoing importance of farmer seed systems in the agricultural practices and livelihoods of smallholder farmers, to identify cases of biodiversity loss and to use this information […]
1 August 2016
Farmer Managed Seed Systems in Morogoro and Mvomero, Tanzania: The disregarded wealth of smallhol...
In this report by the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), in partnership with Mtandao wa Vikundi vya Wakulima Tanzania (MVIWATA) and Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), based on field work conducted in Morogoro and Mvomero in 2016. It is a continuation of a research partnership with MVIWATA and SAT started in 2014, which has focused on […]
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 […]
24 October 2015
Investments in the Beira Corridor in Mozambique: threats to farmers’ seed and food systems
The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) in partnership with the União Nacional de Camponeses (UNAC, National Peasants Union), and Kaleidoscopio has today released preliminary findings in a research project: ‘Agricultural investment activities in the Beira Corridor, Mozambique: Threats and opportunities for small-scale farmers.’ Joining Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi to the coast of Mozambique, the Beira […]
16 June 2014
Slavishly following UPOV 1991: A critique of Mozambique’s PVP law
In this report, the ACB provides a critique of the Mozambique PVP law and concludes that the government of Mozambique has turned a blind eye to its small-scale farmers and their seed and farming systems. The provisions dealing with the exclusive rights granted to plant breeders and the exceptions to those rights render the centuries-old […]