our team

Mariam holds BA LLB and LLM degrees, which she obtained from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Under Mariam’s leadership, the ACB has earned a respected record of evidence-based work and plays a vital role in the food sovereignty struggles on the African continent, through championing new thinking on seed sovereignty policy, and opposing unsustainable and socially unjust food systems, rooted in industrial agriculture, especially genetic engineering of seed and crops.

Sabrina joined the ACB in 2014. She has a BA in Environmental Studies from Kenyatta University, Kenya. Sabrina supports the ACB’s work on research, campaigning, networking and advocacy around biosafety, seed systems, and agricultural biodiversity. She is also a link to the East African work on the continent.

Linzi is an applied and political ecologist, artist and activist. She has worked at the ACB since June 2016, as a research and advocacy officer.

“I am grateful to be part of this amazing team and part of the social movements reminding the world of the intricate connection between diverse peoples, knowledges, and biodiversity, and challenging the dominant discourse and policies that promote the expansion of industrial agricultural at the expense of everything sacred, and all that sustains life. "

Linzi has a BSc (Hons) Geography, Ecology and Environmental Science (Wits University); MSc Forests and Livelihoods (University of Copenhagen); MSc Agricultural Development (AgroParisTech, Montpellier).

Rutendo joined the ACB as a research and advocacy officer in February, 2019. She has a background in Agronomy with a BSc from Midlands State University Zimbabwe and an MAgric in Food Security from University of KwaZulu-Natal. She has worked in the NGO sector for seven years with a focus on agriculture research aimed at creating  sustainable pathways for achieving food security and eradicating hunger for all.

Andrew joined the ACB in 2019 on a part-time basis and became a full-time staff member in 2021. He has an MA in Development and Environmental Sociology, and is writing his PhD on the agrarian question, the politics of food, and grassroots organising in South Africa, at Wits University, Johannesburg. His research work has focused mainly on land, extractivism, environment and the politics of food systems. He also has an activist history in cooperative and solidarity economy support, community organising, popular education and coordinating national campaigning on food and climate justice issues.