Latest Resources

The violence of agrarian extractivism in Ethiopia

Locusts, state authoritarianism and webs of US imperialism We are pleased to share you with our latest discussion paper in our “Multiple shocks in Africa series”. We show how the locust swarms that hit the Horn of Africa over the course of 2020 were yet another in a series of shocks already battering smallholders in […]

GMOs in South Africa 23 years on: failures, biodiversity loss and escalating hunger

Transition to agroecology urgently needed This paper aims to update the public on activities and increased concerns since South Africa first approved the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops before the turn of the century. We are now living through a global pandemic, pointing to the imbalanced relationship between humans and our life-supporting systems and […]

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. […]

GM Industry Called to Account: ISAAA’s report mischievous and erroneous

The Africa Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has dismissed the findings of the biotechnology industry’s flagship annual report, published by the GM industry funded ‘NGO’, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), as mischievous and erroneous. According to the report, South Africa’s GM crop area increased by a record 26% or 600,000 hectares […]

GM cotton in SA

The biotechnology industry has really tried to win small-scale farmers over to genetically modified (GM) cotton, especially in Africa and Asia. Getting cotton approved in a country is a good way for the industry to pave the way for the entry of GM food crops. It is estimated that farmers around the globe planted about […]