On this page you will find all of ACB’s publications. To the right are the search categories that will help you navigate around the ACB’s extensive work.
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 s
Press Release from the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB)
23 April 2019, Johannesburg, South Africa
In this updated briefing, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) reflects on how the new Plant Improvement Act (PIA) 2018 will further undermine the rights of small-scale farmers while expanding the rights of the cor
In this updated briefing, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) warns that the Plant Breeder’s Rights Act (PBR) 2018 will impact negatively on small-scale farmers and calls for exemptions in the Regulations to protect farmers’ rights.
Recently the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) held national consultations on whether South Africa should accede to two international agreements related to seed: The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA, or the Treaty) and the International Convention on the Protection of New Va
The South African government has called upon stakeholders to submit comments and attend stakeholder meetings on the 23rd and 24th October 2018, on the implications of South Africa acceding to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agri
In the recently published discussion paper, ‘The SADC PVP Protocol: Blueprint for uptake of UPOV 1991 in Africa’, Sabrina Masinjila and Mariam Mayet, provide an updated critique on th
In the recently published discussion document by the African Centre for Biodiversity titled, The Arusha Protocol and Regulations: Institutionalising UPOV 1991 in African seed systems & laws , authors Linzi Lewis and Mariam Mayet attempt to provide an updated, and holistic critique of the Arusha Protocol for the Protection of New Var
Resisting Corporate Seed Laws in South Africa - the fourth in a series of six videos covering discussions from the ACB hosted event, National Seed Dialogue and Celebration
“Seeds are the basis of life. Human life, your life, is dependent on plants. The qualities of the seed go beyond beauty to sustaining us nutritionally and medicinally. Seed is the foundation of human diets across the world.”
The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has prepared this policy discussion document as a contribution towards national and regional seed policies in Africa that recognise and support farmer seed systems.
On 8 and 9 December 2017 the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) hosted a national seed dialogue and celebration at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.
The expansion of the corporate seed market, embedded in the green revolution agenda in sub-Saharan Africa is progressing very fast. This expansion is going hand in hand with regional policies and regulations – in a process also known as seed harmonisation – that will enable facilitate trade across national borders.
The government of Malawi is poised to adopt a draconian National Seed Policy that blocks peasant farmers’ opportunities to secure and strengthen farmer-managed seed systems (FMSS), and which would undermine farmers’ rights and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, to which Malaw
Smallholder farmers in Mozambique want access to a diversity of quality seed, but not exclusively from the formal sector. Farmers highly value their own varieties and want to work on enhancing these, too.
The Plant Breeders’ Rights and Plant Improvement Bills restrict the saving, trading, exchanging, and sale of seed. This can have massive ramifications on seed and food sovereignty, agricultural biodiversity, access to diverse seed, and increasing the disparities and inequalities in South African agriculture, food and nutrition.
Seed policy in sub-Saharan Africa is developing and changing fast, as the seed industry continues to expand its reach. A huge amount of energy and resources are being directed at harmonising seed and intellectual property legislation at the regional level through regional economic communities.
ACB submitted comments on the Plant Breeders’ Rights and Plant Improvement Bills, to the Select Committee on Land and Mineral Resources on the 24th January 2017. These bills restrict the saving, trading, exchanging, and sale of seed.
Press Release from the African Centre for Biodiversity and PELUM Association in collaboration with the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa 29 November 2016 The authoritarian nature of the African Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) Secretariat and its undemocratic processes are scandalous and unacceptable.
Further comments on the revised regulations (draft 3) for the implementation of ARIPO’s Arusha Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, that will be submitted for adoption in December 2016.