Latest Resources
1 October 2013
AFSA Statement Condemning COMESA Approval of Seed Regulations
The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa strongly condemns the approval during September 2013, by the Council of Ministers of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) of the draft COMESA Seed Trade Harmonization Regulations, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Seed Regulations’). The COMESA Seed Regulations will greatly facilitate agricultural transformation in […]
16 May 2013
ACB’s comments on the COMESA Harmonisation of seed trade regulations
ACB’s comments on the COMESA Harmonisation of seed trade regulations. Read here.
16 April 2013
Maíz transgénico de Sudáfrica: imposición en México y Zimbawe
BOLETÍN DE PRENSA Grupo ETC, Centro Africano para la Bioseguridad, FoodMattersZimbabwe y CTDT El Centro Africano para la Bioseguridad (ACB, African Center for Biosafety) manifiesta su alarma ante el hecho de que las autoridades sudafricanas dieron luz verde a la exportación de más de 25 mil toneladas de maíz transgénico hacia Zimbawe. Es la primera […]
15 April 2013
South Africa exports unapproved. GM maize to Zimbabwe, continues to export to Mexico, contaminati...
The ACB is deeply concerned by the news that the South African GMO authorities have permitted over 25,000 tons of GM maize to be exported to Zimbabwe. This is the first time that South African GM maize grains have been commercially exported to our neighbor north of the Limpopo, and adds to a growing list […]
2 April 2013
Civil Society Statement on COMESA Seed Trade Laws
This submission was made by civil society groups at a COMESA meeting in Lusaka during March 2013, in which serious concerns were raised about the COMESA seed trade laws as negatively impacting on small farmers in the COMESA region. Statement made by: Zambia Climate Change Network (ZCCN); East and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum […]
27 November 2012
Harmonisation of Africa’s seed laws: death knell for African seed systems
The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has released its new report titled, ‘Harmonisation of Africa’s seed laws: a recipe for disaster- Players, motives and dynamics. The report shows how African governments are being co-opted into harmonising seed laws relating to border control measures, phytosanitary control, variety release systems, certification standards and intellectual property rights, to […]
23 November 2012
Harmonisation of Africa’s seeds laws: a recipe for disaster
The core of the paper is focused on the pressures being exerted on African governments to adopt the 1991 Act of the International Union for the Protection of Plant Varieties (UPOV), particularly through regional harmonisation of plant variety protection (PVP) policies and laws. We also discuss the adverse impacts PVP laws will have on the […]
4 July 2012
Comments on COMESA’s Draft Policy on Commercial Planting, Trade and Emergency Food Aid Invo...
On the 8th and 9th May 2012 COMESA held a meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, to review a draft policy on the regulation and trade of GMOs for the region. While the Biotech Industry was very well represented at the meeting, civil society was completely left out of the process. This policy is being drafted behind […]
9 March 2011
How US sorghum seed distributions undermine the FAO Plant Treaty’s Multilateral System
New data from ICRISAT and the US Department of Agriculture and a comparison of genebank records indicates that half of more of ICRISAT’s sorghum genebank collection is also being distributed outside of the Multilateral System. This yawning gap creates an economic incentive for the Multilateral System and its benefit-sharing requirements to be avoided. USDA’s sorghum […]
19 February 2011
Agrochemical giant DuPont to sell Bolivian sorghum gene
In 2012 multinational giant DuPont plans to begin selling sorghum varieties containing a valuable gene taken from a sudan grass that was collected in 2006 in Bolivia. The gene, branded as ‘Inzen A II’, makes sorghum plants tolerant to herbicides made by DuPont and other companies, and was acquired under exclusive license from Kansas State […]