Latest Resources

12 July 2019

Burkinabé Bounty connects the resistance of smallholder farmers on the African continent

Burkinabé Bounty connects the resistance of smallholder farmers on the African continent Sabrina Masinjila, ACB’s Outreach and Advocacy officer based in Tanzania, organised a group of farmers to attend a screening of this film at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. She reflects on the experience. The role of art and music to express cultural and […]

29 May 2019

ACB’s Commentary on An Africa-Europe Agenda for Rural Transformation: Report by the Task Force Ru...

The European Union (EU) is in the process of defining a new set of priorities in the African agricultural and food sectors, through the proposed implementation of the EU-Africa Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs. Their Task Force for Rural Africa published a report with draft recommendations, which is oriented towards promoting the capitalist transformation […]

30 April 2019

Oxitec’s failed GM mosquito releases worldwide: Forewarnings for Africa and the Target Malaria pr...

A decade ago, genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes were first released globally, in the Cayman Islands, by UK-based company Oxitec. Further releases followed in Malaysia, Panama and Brazil. In a public relations whitewash, Oxitec has repeatedly claimed that the experiments successfully wiped out nearly 90% of the Aedes aegypti mosquito population, which is one of the […]

26 April 2019

Undermining farmers’ rights and seed systems: Why the EAC seed and plant varieties bill must be d...

In this vlog, African Centre for Biodiversity’s (ACB’s) Sabrina Masinjila, based in Tanzania, speaks about the East African Community Seed and Plant Varieties Bill, 2018 and some of the concerns related to the Bill, as more fully set out in a detailed report and summary. As described in the vlog and our detailed report, Concerns […]

8 April 2019

Production quality controls in farmer seed systems in Africa

This ACB report explores issues relating to farmers’ independent seed development, production and distribution. Drawing from innovative case studies in Brazil, East Africa and elsewhere, suggestions are presented to strengthen farmer quality control practices. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 65% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods, producing around 80% of food consumed. […]

4 March 2019

Failure of Monsanto’s drought tolerant maize pushed on Africa – confirmed in US

The ACB shares with you a blog written by ACB’s Sabrina Masinjila and Anne Maina from Biodiversity and Biosafety Association (BIBA), Kenya A recent United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report confirms what independent biosafety scientists, and African civil society, have been stating all along: Monsanto’s drought tolerant (DT) maize (MON87460) does not work! The […]

7 December 2018

Mark Lynas slammed for exploiting African farmers’ images to promote GMOs

African farmers are demanding that Lynas cease using their images in his GMO promotionals; Lynas’s mischief-making may have triggered Tanzania’s ending of GMO field trials. Report: Claire Robinson, GMWatch and Mariam Mayet, African Centre for Biodiversity. The British pro-GMO activist Mark Lynas has angered African farmers over his mis-use of their images on the internet […]

23 November 2018

Tanzania orders destruction of Monsanto/Gates’ GM trials due to illegal use for pro-GM propaganda

Dar es Salaam 23 November 2018 Tanzanian civil society organisations (CSOs) welcome the decision of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mathew Mtigumwe, to bring an immediate stop to all ongoing GM field trials taking place in the country. These are under the auspices of the Water Efficient Maize for […]

5 October 2018

The future of smallholder farmer support in Tanzania: Where to after the National Agricultural In...

A publication by the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) titled The Future of smallholder farmer support in Tanzania: Where to after the National Agricultural Input Voucher System (NAIVS)? discusses farm input subsidies in Tanzania and their impacts on smallholder farmers. The report examines the history of farm input subsidy programmes (FISPs) in the country, with […]

10 September 2018

Report from SADC regional farmer speak out on farm input subsidy programmes

Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) and African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) jointly hosted a meeting of farmers and civil society organisations (CSOs) in August 2018 to share views and experiences on farm input subsidy programmes (FISPs) and public sector support for agroecology in the region. About 140 participants from Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, […]