Latest Resources
30 July 2021
Seed is power – Reclaiming African Seed Sovereignty: Africans speak out against corporate hegemon...
In rejection of the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), which held its pre-summit this week, civil society, farmers groups and social movements came together for a global counter-mobilisation that spanned four days, with 15 online sessions. One of the webinars, titled Seed is power: Reclaiming African Seed Sovereignty, featured a presentation: Africans speak out […]
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 […]
12 February 2021
SAN Petition to Stop ReconAfrica’s Drilling operations in the Okavango
Indigenous Peoples and Africans are under threat from Recon Africa and Big Oil and Gas Development Permits have been issued to prospect, drill and ultimately extract oil and gas over 8.75 million acres of the Kalahari Desert in Namibia and Botswana extending to the south eastern banks of the Okavango River and Okavango Delta. The […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]