Latest Resources
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 […]
23 April 2021
Regulator’s blind eye of Corteva’s toxic spread: 2,4-D GM maize and agrarian extractivism in Sout...
It is incontestable that 2,4-D is extremely toxic for the environment and human health, as numerously raised and resisted by civil society for more than a decade. However, a succession of South African regulators over the years have failed to stop 2,4-D from entering our agricultural and food system, in a global context where many […]
18 August 2020
Registration of farmers’ varieties in SADC
Key Issues emerging from the dialogue between CSOs and SADC, African governments August 2020 The registration of farmer varieties is a controversial issue. On the one hand, it is argued that registration facilitates accessible opportunities and benefits for local farmers, such as increasing visibility of varieties, promotion and protection of indigenous knowledge, and opportunities for […]
22 July 2020
Global Network for the Right to Food and Nutrition Report
Coming on the heels of the publication of the UN’s State of Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI) report presenting the global hunger and food insecurity figures, the Global Network for the Right to Food and Nutrition (GNRtFN) releases its 2020 State of the Right to Food and Nutrition Report, which the ACB supports. Here is […]
30 June 2020
Civil society statement on the South African Supplementary Budget
Implications for food security and land reform within a context of multiple crises See below for a link to the recording of an online media briefing. The Minister of Finance has announced an austerity budget at a time when the fissures of unresolved historical inequality, poverty and suffering are made so much sharper. The lives […]
10 June 2020
ACB raises concerns on GM Covid-19 vaccine trials for SA, calls for transparency & public he...
Clique aqui para a versão portuguesa Por favor, haga clic aquí para el español The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has made a submission to the Registrar of GMOs in South Africa, following an application made by Professor Shabir Ahmed Madhi, from the Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit (RMPRU), Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, […]
4 March 2020
More toxic GM crops & food for SA; Ineffective GM drought tolerant maize pushed on Kenya and...
In this first alert of the decade, African Centre of Biodiversity research and advocacy officers Linzi Lewis and Sabrina Masinjila provide an update on the status of GM activities, in South Africa and in relation to the region. Summary of current key trends The South African government has authorised field trials of 2,4-D resistant soybean. […]
10 February 2020
IPC’s letter on UN Food Systems Summit: Call for support
The International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) calls on CSOs to endorse their letter of concern to the UN regarding the 2021 World Food Summit Since the 1996 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s (FAO’s) World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome, civil society organisations (CSOs) supporting food sovereignty have created alliances across […]
6 September 2019
ALERT: More poisoning of South Africa’s staple food, as 2,4-D GM maize set for approval
6 September 2019 The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) is extremely concerned about impending approvals by the South African government in regard to three new genetically modified (GM) maize varieties designed to withstand the extremely toxic herbicide, 2,4-D. 2,4-D is one of the active ingredients of the infamous war chemical Agent Orange. The ACB has […]
27 May 2019
Securing equitable farmer support and the transition from the Farm Input Subsidy Programme in Zambia
We are pleased to share with you this discussion paper, co-published by the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity (ZAAB). In Zambia, as in many other African countries, decisions related to food production and consumption increasingly lie outside the control of those responsible and accountable for food and […]