Latest Resources
6 June 2024
Annual report for 2023 celebrates ACB’s 20th anniversary
2023 was a special year for the ACB, as it marked the twentieth anniversary since our organisation came into being, initially in response to the emergence of genetically modified organisms and the attendant biosafety issues in food and agriculture. As the organisation grew, our focus broadened to include a host of interconnected issues affecting food […]
5 April 2018
A tale of neo-apartheid plans, dodgy dealings and corporate capture: Government support to South ...
Press Release from the African Centre for Biodiversity Johannesburg, Thursday 5 April 2018 Limited transparency, weak accountability, and capture by corporations and politically-connected individuals. These are features of the current South African landscape found in government’s smallholder farmer support programmes, according to a research report by African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) released today. The report, […]
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 […]
16 October 2017
GM cotton in Africa: battleground between US and Chinese Capital
This paper provides an overview of the GM cotton push in in East and Southern Africa, within the context of the global and regional cotton markets.
22 June 2017
Regulatory Implications of New Breeding Techniques
This paper presents an evidence-based critique of the Report published by the Academy of Science South Africa (ASSAf) titled ‘Regulatory Implications of New Breeding Techniques’ (the Report). Our critique discusses the pro-GM propaganda contained in the Report and contrasts it with a well-established scientific body of concerns surrounding the use of these so-called new breeding […]
13 March 2017
Two simplified briefings introducing new GM technologies and biosafety risks
These reports introduce the novel techniques already being employed, or in development and their associated biosafety concerns that go against the claim that crops developed with these methods are technological progress in ‘precision’ and ‘safety’. Further described is the utilisation of RNA interference, an epigenetic process that is already being employed in commercialised crops. Despite […]
13 February 2017
The Bayer-Monsanto merger: Implications for South Africa’s agricultural future and its smallholde...
This paper explores the likely implications of an approved Bayer-Monsanto merger for the South African agricultural system. It outlines the trend of consolidation occurring within the seed and agrochemical industries, provides a background to the merger, criticises the rationale given for the merger by Bayer and Monsanto and outlines concerns should the merger be approved […]
15 October 2016
World Food Day – South Africa faces drought, rising food prices and false promises of GMOs
To cope with drought and rising food prices, we need to urgently move away from genetically modified food and towards indigenous African crops. So warns the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). “We need to urgently shift away from maize towards embracing a diversity of crops – particularly indigenous African summer grain crops such as sorghum […]
14 October 2016
Transitioning out of GM maize: Current drought is an opportunity for a more resilient and just fo...
Coinciding with World Food Day, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), in a new report titled “Transitioning out of GM maize: towards nutrition security, climate adaptation, agro-ecology and social justice” makes a compelling case for South Africa to urgently transition out of GM maize production, to systems that are socially just, ecologically sustainable and provide […]
2 July 2016
Genetically Modified (GM) Soya in South Africa: Status Quo Report
This briefing paper presents the status of genetically modified (GM) soya in South Africa. GM Soyabean seed owned by Monsanto and genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide glyphosate, accounts for 90% of all soya bean production in South Africa. Download the report.