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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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
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 […]
16 August 2019
Africa must ban glyphosate now!
Thank you for supporting our continental campaign to ban glyphosate The deadline for signing on to the petition was Friday, 30 August, 2019. In the next phase of the campaign, many organisations around the continent are sending letters to their governments calling for a ban. In this paper we explain why. Globally, glyphosate and glyphosate-based […]
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 […]
8 July 2019
Seed and gene banks play a critical role in conserving and sharing indigenous crop seeds
On a trip to Harare for partnership exploration meetings, the African Centre for Biodiversity visited the Genetic Resources and Biotechnology Institute of Zimbabwe. Gene banks such as these are primarily established to conserve the genetic resources that form the basis for all food production. Seed collections start at the level of community seed banks and […]
5 July 2019
Post Cyclone Idai: Farming practices for resilience to withstand extreme weather events
Ranked as one of the worst tropical storms to hit Africa, Cyclone Idai made landfall in central Mozambique on 15 March, before moving on to Malawi and Zimbabwe. The district of Chimanimani in Zimbabwe was one of the worst-hit areas. On a recent trip to Zimbabwe, ACB spoke to representatives of three organisations that work […]