Latest Resources

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 […]

Civil Society submission on SADC PVP Protocol

This document represents the submission by more than 80 civil society organisations from the SADC region, other parts of Africa and around the world to the SADC Secretariat. These groups representing millions of farmers have condemned the SADC draft Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants as spelling disaster for small farmers and […]

Letters to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for urgent interventions: Dow’s 2,4 D + gl...

Request for intervention to uphold the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health GM crops engineered to be resistant to three herbicides: 2,4-D, glufosinate-ammonium and glyphosate. Previous letters sent to: Mr. Anand Grover Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest […]

Letter to the UK Government on DFID Green Revolution funding

Letter from Food & Water Watch, GAIA Foundation and ACB to UK government demanding answers over DFID funding of Green Revolution projects in Africa. Read more.

Comments on: Draft amendments to regulations to the Consumer Protection Act related to labelling ...

Comments on: Draft amendments to regulations to the Consumer Protection Act related to labelling of GMOs 8 November 2012. Read more.

Submission by ACB and African CSOs to ARIPO on its draft PVP law and policies, November 2012

During October/November 2012, a number of African groups from civil society in Africa supported a submission to ARIPO on its draft policy and legal framework for PVP. In such submission, the groups pointed out that draft legal framework was not written with the interests of sub-Saharan African states in mind, particularly ARIPO member states. This […]

Open Letter to AGRI SA: Response to its unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of GM maize in SA

Snippet from the letter below. The ACB read with interest an article published in the Business Day (2nd October, ‘AgriSA backs gene-modified maize’), in which you argue that the curtailment of cultivating GM maize in South Africa would lead to lower yields, higher maize prices, and an increase in the use of agricultural pesticides. You […]

Statement on AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa)

At a farmers rights meeting held in Uganda in September 2012, where a statement was drawn up and signed by many concerned parties. Read the statement here. Signatures:

Open Letter to African Governments and AGRA (The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa)

The undersigned 28 civil society organisations support and represent the interests of smallholder farmers and livestock keepers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and are concerned with the conservation of agricultural biodiversity for livelihood security and food sovereignty. View the full statement here.

Objections to Monsanto’s application for spate of field trials with GM drought tolerant mai...

Field trials with MON 87460 are currently underway in South Africa at Hopetown, Orania, Pretoria, Lutzville and Delareyville. These field trials form part of a larger initiative under the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project, a public-private partnership between African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), Monsanto, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and […]