Latest Resources
30 August 2022
Regulations of Plant Improvement Act and Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, 2018
Please find here ACB’s comments to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development regarding the recently published Regulations to implement the Plant Improvement Act 2018, and the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, 2018. The Department has taken important steps in these Regulations to ensure that certain groups of farmers are exempt from these corporate […]
30 April 2022
Is the end of the State of Disaster the beginning of mandatory vaccines in South Africa?
The endless extensions to the State of Disaster, initially declared two years ago, has provoked criticism from medical experts and calls for its end from public-interest groups and an increasingly fed-up citizenry. Recently, the government announced that the restrictions were finally to be lifted. However, during this time, a draft amendment to the National Health […]
28 April 2022
The financialisation of malaria in Africa: Burkina Faso, rogue capital & GM /gene drive mosq...
(Veuillez cliquer ici pour lire en français) The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) hereby publishes a new research paper, titled, “The Financialisation of malaria: Burkina Faso, Rogue capital & GM/gene drive mosquitoes.” This paper seeks to understand the financialisation of malaria as a vehicle for rogue capital in a context of a weakened state (through […]
14 April 2022
International day of Peasants’ Struggles 17 April 2022 – UN expert applauds vital rol...
GENEVA (14 April 2022) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, draws attention to the struggles of peasants and others which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the rise of extrajudicial violence against peasants and armed conflicts around the world. On the International Day of Peasants’ Struggles, he […]
8 March 2022
Coalition demands a ban of Bt Cowpea in Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries
A coalition of non-governmental organisations, farmer groups and research experts from various African countries call on the Nigerian government to revoke the permits granted by Nigeria’s National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, for the commercial release of genetically modified (Bt) Cowpea (PBR-Cowpea). This call was made yesterday in […]
23 February 2022
African Union endorses draconian, undemocratic and corporate captured policy guidelines for seed ...
Veuillez cliquer ici pour lire la version française The African Union (AU) has endorsed the continental guidelines for the harmonisation of seed and regulatory frameworks and the continental guidelines for the use of biotechnology in food and agriculture in Africa, despite fierce resistance from African civil society. On 16 February 2022, we found out that […]
27 August 2021
Guidelines for the Harmonisation of Seed Regulatory Frameworks in Africa: Call for African social...
The African Union (AU) has embarked on a mission towards harmonising seed regulatory frameworks across the continent, beginning with the establishment of a set of Guidelines on seed law harmonisation. The African Centre for Biodiversity, along with other civil society organisations and farmers’ associations from Africa, have actively engaged in the development of these Guidelines. […]
2 August 2021
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 […]
17 May 2021
Harmonisation of seed laws in Africa
Regional and continental integration under the auspices of the African Continental Seed Harmonisation (ACSH) initiative and the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACfTA) The African Union Commission (AUC)’s African Seed and Biotechnology Programme is undertaking a process developing Continental Guidelines for the Harmonisation of Seed Regulatory Frameworks in Africa. The ACB was able to access […]
28 April 2021
Bayer breathing life into Gates’ failed GM drought tolerant maize
Agrarian extractivism continues unabated on the African continent In this alert, African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) research and advocacy officers, Sabrina Masinjila and Rutendo Zendah, give insights into the development of a double stacked drought tolerant variety MON 87460 x MON 810, under the Gate’s funded project, Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), now known […]