Latest Resources
7 February 2010
A profile of Monsanto in South Africa
Monsanto is a globally dominant company in the agrochemical, seed and agricultural biotechnology sector. It has been active in the agrochemicals market in South Africa since 1968, and now owns almost all traits used in the South African GM crop market. Thanks to the purchase of local seed companies, Sensako and Carnia, in the late […]
7 February 2010
Bilateral biosafety bullies: How corporations use bilateral trade channels to weaken biotech regu...
Across the world, the use of bilateral trade instruments to prise open markets for genetically modified (GM) crops is escalating. To expand business overseas, the biotech industry needs stronger intellectual property rules and weaker biosafety standards. Bilateral trade deals are an effective way to do this. This report looks specifically at how the world’s grain […]
25 January 2010
GM Cassava update from the African Centre for Biosafety
During 2006, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) submitted an application to the South African GMO Authority, the Executive Council: GMO Act, for permission to conduct field trials of GM Cassava. The ACB and the international NGO, GRAIN, submitted comprehensive objections to the application on 8 September 2006, widely supported by local and international groups and […]
5 January 2010
Status of de facto moratorium on GM commodity clearance/import applications in SA
The South African government has granted a large number of commodity import permits over the years, enabling millions of tons of GM maize, soya and canola to be imported into South Africa. However, during September/October 2005, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), a member of the Executive Council (EC): GMO Act, raised several concerns […]
17 November 2009
Ongoing Concerns about Harmonisation of Biosafety Regulations in Africa
The paper is a response to concerns raised by the African Union’s Biosafety Unit about assertions made in an earlier briefing in June 2009 regarding the African Union’s biosafety harmonisation processes. In this briefing the Ms Swanby on behalf of the ACB salutes the initiatives taken by the AU in the biosafety discourse on the […]
8 September 2009
Biotechnology, seed and agrochemicals: Global and South African industry structure and trends
Biotechnology, seed and agrochemicals global and South African industry structure and trends. Click here to read the publication.
10 August 2009
Pirating African heritage: the pillaging continues
The cases of suspected biopiracy are summarised and discussed in a few paragraphs. Patent numbers and/or application numbers are provided for each, as well as contact information for the entity or entities that have lodged the patent claims. Using the provided data, the full patent (application) text can be accessed online at patent websites, such […]
7 August 2009
South African GM grapevine trials to go ahead
The South African authorities have given the go-ahead to the Institute of wine biotechnology, based at the University of Stellenbosch, to conduct open-air field trials of grapevines genetically modified to resist fungal disease, despite the failure of fungal resistant grapevines in German trials seven years ago. Read more here.
13 July 2009
Comments on Nigeria’s Draft Biosafety Bill
An Act to Provide for the Management of Biosafety and other related matters, 2007 Environmental Rights Action (ERA) (Friends of the Earth, Nigeria) has approached the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) to provide them with our comments on the latest draft of their country’s biosafety bill. The ACB has in the past, provided formal and […]