"Subclassing and Composition – A Pythonic Tour of Trade-Offs", Hynek Schlawack
Applying and integrating bioscience innovation for socio-economic development
1. E Jane Morris
African Centre for Gene
Technologies and Department of
Biochemistry University of Pretoria
APPLYING AND
INTEGRATING
First Bio-Innovate Regional
BIOSCIENCE
Scientific Conference INNOVATION FOR
United Nations Conference SOCIO-ECONOMIC
Centre (UNCC-ECA) DEVELOPMENT
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
25-27 February 2013
2. What is bioscience innovation?
Transferand application of knowledge, R&D
and information (OECD)
The innovative application of biotechnology to
create products or services
Can involve adoption, refinement and
modification of existing technologies – not
necessarily new cutting edge technologies
3. Bioscience innovation towards
a bioeconomy
Africa and the world need to move towards a
sustainable bioeconomy
So – what do we mean by a bioeconomy?
A world where biotechnology contributes to a
significant share of economic output (OECD)
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)
4. Why does Africa need a bio-
economy?
The current trajectory of economic development
is ecologically unsustainable
Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions where
natural services are most threatened by human
impacts
To be sustainable, the development of a bio-
economy should focus not only on new uses of
biomass, but also on increased biomass
production and on its more efficient use, including
use of waste products. Africa has huge potential
here!
5. 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???
6. IS AFRICA MAKING ANY
PROGRESS TOWARDS THE
DEVELOPMENT OF A BIO-
ECONOMY?
7. 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
8. 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
9. 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
10. 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
11. 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
12. 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
13. 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
14. 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
15. 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
16. 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
Strive for an integrated approach to development of
the bioinnovation value chain
Build on synergies through collaboration
Brach (2010) suggested that two thirds of variation in economic development can be explained by a country’s technological readiness
: the public sector has limited ability to market its research outputs, while the private sector will not engage in activities where the market is insufficient to ensure profitability. Ferroni and Castle (2011) cite specific examples of PPPs involving the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, such as the development of semi-dwarf Eragrostistef, the staple food of Ethiopia; rust resistant wheat; micronutrient enhanced crops through the CGIAR HarvestPlus Challenge Program including vitamin A enhanced sweet potato (Uganda and Mozambique), maize (Zambia) and cassava (Nigeria); and iron rich pearl millet (India) and bean (Rwanda).The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), headquartered in Kenya, specifically has a mandate to facilitate and promote PPPs. One of their flagship projects is the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project, a partnership between Monsanto, BASF, the CGIAR International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and the national agricultural research systems in participating countries. Funding is provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G Buffet Foundation. This complex project demonstrates the potential of multi-partner PPPs to deliver value above and beyond what could be possible through any one organization
the cost of doing business in Africa is 20–40% above that for other developing regionsAfrican tertiary graduates are weak in problem solving, business understanding, computer use and communication skillsStrong leadership by Africa’s politicians is required to remove generic roadblocks such as customs barriers to regional trade; to establish systems to ensure that farmers have access to modern agricultural inputs; to promote African-based integrated value chains; and above all to promote a change of mind-set regarding the importance of science, technology and innovation.