Latest Resources
22 January 2021
Tanzania cancels GMO trials again: Urgent need to uphold ban, disrupt false solutions and neo-col...
In a totally unexpected move, the newly appointed Tanzania Agricultural Minister, Prof Adolf Mkenda, in mid-January 2021 announced the cancellation of research trials involving genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the country and the decision to put in place extra biosafety scrutiny of imported genetically modified (GM) seed. The decision was taken by the Minister in […]
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 […]
5 June 2020
Commentary submitted to FAO discussion on the AFCFTA as it relates to food and agriculture
On 2 June, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) submitted commentary on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) as it relates to food and agriculture, to a discussion hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Our concerns centred around three areas: the kind of food systems that in its […]
6 September 2019
ACB’s Statement on the Xenophobic Violence in South Africa
As an organisation that works with multiple partners across the African continent for ecological and social transformation of food systems in favour of small farmers and the poor, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) is deeply disturbed and outraged by the outbreaks of violence against our sisters and brothers in South Africa. At a time […]
29 May 2019
ACB’s Commentary on An Africa-Europe Agenda for Rural Transformation: Report by the Task Force Ru...
The European Union (EU) is in the process of defining a new set of priorities in the African agricultural and food sectors, through the proposed implementation of the EU-Africa Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs. Their Task Force for Rural Africa published a report with draft recommendations, which is oriented towards promoting the capitalist transformation […]
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 […]
15 May 2019
Input Subsidies in Mozambique: the future of peasant farmers and their seed systems
In this report, the African Centre for Biodiversity outlines and assesses input subsidy programmes in Mozambique, as part of the larger agriculture policy landscape, and the impact this has had on the agricultural sector, particularly on smallholder farmers. In Mozambique, peasant farmers feed the country mostly using their own seed. Yet the majority of (donor-funded) […]
26 April 2019
Undermining farmers’ rights and seed systems: Why the EAC seed and plant varieties bill must be d...
In this vlog, African Centre for Biodiversity’s (ACB’s) Sabrina Masinjila, based in Tanzania, speaks about the East African Community Seed and Plant Varieties Bill, 2018 and some of the concerns related to the Bill, as more fully set out in a detailed report and summary. As described in the vlog and our detailed report, Concerns […]
8 April 2019
Production quality controls in farmer seed systems in Africa
This ACB report explores issues relating to farmers’ independent seed development, production and distribution. Drawing from innovative case studies in Brazil, East Africa and elsewhere, suggestions are presented to strengthen farmer quality control practices. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 65% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods, producing around 80% of food consumed. […]