Latest Resources

30 August 2023

The rise of digital agriculture and dispossession in Africa: implications for smallholder farmers

In part one in a series of two, consisting of a briefing paper and linked fact sheet, we explore the current status of digital agriculture in Africa and the potential implications its deployment has for smallholder farmers on the continent. We outline three primary areas of concern related to potential inequitable benefits and influence accrued from its deployment; […]

21 August 2023

South Africa’s list of highly hazardous pesticides researched and published by the network Unpoison

UPDATE: On 21 February 2025, Unpoison SA published an update of the database of highly hazardous pesticides registered for use in South Africa that they initially published two years earlier. Click here to read the press release. Click here for the updated database. 21 August 2023 This publicly available list of Highly Hazardous Pesticides, hitherto […]

17 August 2023

South African People’s Tribunal on AgroToxins welcomes UN Expert’s assessment highlighting human ...

UPDATE: UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, Dr Marcos Orellana, recently released his country visit report on South Africa. Read the report here. He will present the report, among others, at the 57th Human Rights Council Session in Geneva on […]

26 July 2023

High Court Decision on GM ‘bogus’ drought tolerant maize – significant blow to advancement of env...

— Press release — On 27 June 2023, Justice Tolmay handed down her judgment on the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB)’s application to review the decisions of South Africa’s Executive Council (EC): Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Act, the GMO Appeal Board, and the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which approved Monsanto/Bayer’s genetically modified (GM) […]

22 May 2023

GM WHEAT OUT OF AFRICA!

Groundswell support for rejection of GM wheat approval in South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa, May 2023 (Haga clic aquí para ver en español) (Clique aqui para ver em português) From across South Africa, the rest of the African continent, and the world, 85 organisations representing millions of small-scale farmers, workers, and consumers have strongly supported […]

10 May 2023

NO TO GM WHEAT IN SOUTH AFRICA!

 We call on the government to reverse approval of GM wheat into our country Thank you to the 80+ organisations, listed below, who support this ACB submission to the South African Biosafety authorities, the Executive Council (EC): GMO Act, to review and reassess its decision to grant approval for the importation into South Africa of […]

3 February 2023

Landmark legal challenge against Monsanto/ Bayer’s “bogus” drought tolerant GM maize ...

In 2017, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) lodged legal proceedings with the High Court of South Africa to review and overturn the decisions of the South African Executive Council: GMO Act (EC), the GMO Appeal Board, and the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, approving Monsanto/Bayer’s genetically modified (GM) drought-tolerant (DT) maize variety MON […]

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 […]