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Presented as part of the "Moving Africa Towards a Knowledge Based Bio-economy" seminar on how agricultural innovation and in particular biosciences in areas such as breeding, agro-processing and value addition can contribute to economic growth and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Key questions of the seminar: How the millions of resource-poor smallholder farmers, so vital for food production and economic growth, can benefit from the prospects of a new bio-economy? How countries in Sub-Saharan Africa can develop programmes, institutional capabilities and bioscience innovation structures able to adapt and use technologies and know-how based on their own priorities and needs? How can Sweden assist countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to move Towards a Knowledge Based Bio-economy?
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THE PROSPECTS FOR AN AFRICAN BIOECONOMY
E Jane Morris
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL NETWORK INITIATIVE
STOCKHOLM27 SEPTEMBER 2013
The Challenge in sub-Saharan Africa
More than 40% of the population live on less than $1 a day
One in three people are under-nourished
Agriculture is the largest employer of labour
Agriculture is responsible for over half of export earnings
Agricultural productivity has stagnated and agricultural production per capita has fallen over the last four decades
Agricultural research has failed to translate into economic improvement
The Challenge in sub-Saharan Africa Africa lags behind much of the rest of the
world in economic development The current trajectory of economic
development is ecologically unsustainable SSA is one of the regions where natural
services are most threatened by human impact
Agricultural productivity and crop yields need to increase dramatically in order to avoid clearing increasingly more virgin land for agricultural production
More efficient use of all agricultural biomass is necessary, including waste minimization and value addition through agroprocessing
Farming systems in Africa Small scale farms account for 90% of
agricultural production Poorly developed markets and inadequate
market access Poor infrastructure Lack of knowledge, resulting in inadequate
technology adoption and adaptation Use of unsuitable varieties and poor
management practices Do farmers want to remain in this situation?
NO! HUGE POTENTIAL FOR THEM TO BECOME
MARKET ORIENTED PLAYERS IN A SUSTAINABLE BIOECONOMY
What do we mean by a Bioeconomy?
Sustainable production and conversion of biomass, for a range of food, health, fibre and industrial products and energy, where renewable biomass encompasses any biological material to be used as raw material (EU)
A world where biotechnology contributes to a significant share of economic output (OECD)
which needs to be contextualized within a Green Economy:
A system of economic activities related to the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services that result in improved human wellbeing over the long term, while not exposing future generations to significant environmental risks and ecological scarcities (UNEP)
None of this can be achieved without innovation, i.e.:
Transfer and application of knowledge, R&D and information (OECD)
The innovative application of technology to create products or services
Can involve adoption, refinement and modification of existing technologies – not necessarily new cutting edge technologies
In Africa, bioinnovation follows one of three routes:1. Community level innovation. eg
Application of indigenous knowledge in traditional medicines, or the use of fermented products as a means of preserving food.
2. Technology transfer and adaptation from developed countries; eg micro-propagation, marker assisted selection, animal vaccines.
3. Implementation of technologies developed elsewhere in the world, eg adoption of insect-resistant (Bt) cotton by small scale farmers in Burkina Faso and elsewhere after backcrossing into local varieties.
What can bioscience innovation contribute?
Improved crop varieties appropriate for local conditions
Improved animal breeds Plant and animal diagnostics and health
solutions Novel agroprocessing solutions
providing value addition to primary production
Reduction in post-harvest losses Novel crops with potential for high
economic return
What about a Bioeconomy strategy?
EU Bio-economy Strategy focuses on the potential for conversion of agricultural biomass into food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy
US Bio-economy Blueprint focuses on new drugs and diagnostics for improved human health, higher-yielding food crops, biofuels and bio-based chemical intermediates
China sees the bio-economy as a means to tackle certain economic and societal challenges rather than an end goal.
AFRICA???
IS AFRICA MAKING ANY PROGRESS TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BIO-ECONOMY?
African case study – Striga tolerant cereals
21m ha infested across Africa, major crop losses
BASF developed herbicide tolerant maize that would kill Striga
Technology deployed through AATF Limited uptake Uptake hampered by limited seed
availability, lack of training for farmers Need for brochures in local languages –
provided by NGOs
African case study – banana tissue culture
Disease results in low yields and shortened life of plants
Tissue culture bananas provide disease free planting material
Concerted efforts to enhance uptake and improve distribution of plantlets
Technology uptake low (eg 5% in Kenya) Uptake hampered by high costs of production,
lack of access to credit by farmers, the need for agricultural inputs, and knowledge of the required agronomic practices
Need for disease resistant plants
African case study – microbial fermentation in South Africa
Technology to produce the amino acid lysine developed in South Africa
1996 - $70M investment in fermentation plant to produce 11 000 tonnes per annum
Technologically successful though a steep learning curve
1998 – management buyout Plant suboptimal in size, tried to diversify
into other less commoditized amino acids 2009 – acquired by a Canadian company,
moved to yeast production
African case study – value addition through agroprocessing Various initiatives to add value to
agricultural products across Africa Eg Cassava in Nigeria, cashew nuts in
Kenya, liquorice in South Africa, edible oils in East Africa
Governments and private sector have all recognized the potential for growth. Market-led, private sector involvement is key for success.
Needs to be a strong linkage between producers and processors
Technological, market, institutional and infrastructural issues must all be addressed
Challenges and hurdles (1)
Access to finance, markets and business advisory services Support for business plan development Seed funding and venture capital Lack of purchasing power in local markets Transport costs and difficulty of access to
markets in the developed world Time and cost of product development
Lack of critical mass (expertise, facilities, money)
Leads to lack of competitiveness
Challenges and hurdles (2)
Intellectual property Weak protection of IPRs in much of Africa Difficulty of accessing IP to ensure
Freedom to Operate High cost of patenting Liability and redress concerns Protection of indigenous knowledge
Policy and regulatory hurdles Policies and legislation do not support
innovation Lack of regulations for biological products
Challenges and hurdles (3)
Funding for R&D Lack of government support for research,
development and innovation Reliance on donor organizations Lack of modern equipment, and/or funds to
run and maintain equipment Lack of pilot plant facilities
Technical skills and know-how Lack of technological readiness hampers
innovation
SOME SOLUTIONS Public-private partnerships
Eg WEMA, Syngenta Foundation projects Bioincubators
Need to be developed throughout the continent
Regional African collaborations CORAF/WECARD, ASARECA etc
Sustained donor-funded programmes Eg Bio-Innovate
Technology licensing Eg P57 in South Africa
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
Improved crops, Animal vaccines and diagnostics Medicinal products derived from the
continent’s biodiversity Biofuels, Biological fertilizers Biological control agents Plant and animal diagnostics Biological waste treatment Nutraceuticals Cosmeceuticals
THE WAY FORWARD Innovators must focus on areas where Africa
has a real competitive advantage Increase investment in market research and
technology benchmarking Increase global competitiveness through
investment climate reforms Increase investment in skills development Lobby for strong political leadership to
remove generic roadblocks Build on synergies through collaboration Strive for an integrated approach to
development of the bioinnovation value chain – Innovation Systems approach
INNOVATION SYSTEMS APPROACH
Demand Domain• Consumers of food and food products in rural
and urban areas• Consumers of industrial raw materials• International commodity markets• Policy-making process and agencies
Enterprise DomainUsers of codified knowledge, producers of mainly tacit knowledge • Farmers• Commodity traders• Input supply agents• Companies and
industries related to agriculture, particularly agroprocessing
• Transporters
Intermediary Domain• NGOs• Extension services• Consultants• Private companies
and other entrepreneurs
• Farmer and trade associations
• Donors
Education and Research Domain
Mainly producing codified knowledge• National and international
agricultural research organizations
• Universities and technical colleges
• Private research foundations Sometimes producing codified knowledge• Private companies• NGOs
Support structures• Banking and financial system• Transport and marketing infrastructure• Professional networks, including trade and
farmer associations• Education system
TAKE HOME MESSAGE:
Swedish expertise has much to contribute towards the development of an African bioeconomy but an integrated approach will achieve more than piecemeal interventions
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