Latest Resources
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 […]
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 […]
9 October 2020
Struggle for recognition of traditional land, territories and seed in Brazil
(Por favor, clique aqui para Português) In recent weeks, a wave of solidarity from many parts of Brazil and from several countries around the world has reached southern Minas Gerais, in support of the resistance of the 450 farming families, who have organised and lived at camp “Quilombo Campo Grande” over the past 22 years. […]
20 July 2020
Corporate capture of seed Is jeopardising farmers sovereignty
In a film by Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, ACB research and advocacy officer Sabrina Masinjila talks about the corporate capture of seeds and how laws favour hybrid seeds and not farmers who care for indigenous seeds. Watch here: https://youtu.be/kEqKDLv65dc
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. […]
25 February 2020
Insights from farmer dialogues in Kalulushi, Zambia
In 2019, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) co-hosted four farmer exchanges in Zambia. The first was in Kalulushi, Copperbelt Province, in partnership with the Zambia College of Horticultural Training (ZCHT) Chapula, Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC), and the Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity (ZAAB). ACB Advocacy and Research Officer Rutendo Zendah gives an […]
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 […]
26 July 2019
Gene Drive Organisms in Africa: Civil Society Speaks Out
On Monday 1st July 2019, Target Malaria announced the release of 6400 genetically modified (GM) sterile male mosquitoes in Bana, a village in Burkina Faso – the first GM insects to be released in Africa. This is Phase I – by Phase III, Target Malaria aims to release gene drive mosquitoes. Gene drives are based […]