This document discusses the prospects of biotechnology in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It outlines several molecular breeding technologies that could help improve crop yields, including molecular diagnostics, tissue culture, marker-assisted selection, and genetic modifications. These technologies may allow for crops with improved nutritional content, drought tolerance, and other desirable traits. The document also discusses using biotechnology to produce non-food agricultural products like biofuels, chemicals, and oils directly in plants. It argues for collaborations to ensure new biosciences benefit smallholder farmers in Africa by focusing on improving local, well-adapted crops like cassava, sweet potato, and sorghum.

1. Engineering better biofuels:
The prospects of
biotechnology in SSA
Ivar Virgin
Stockholm Environment
Institute
(SEI)

2. Could biotechnology contribute to solving
productivity and yield stability in developing
countries?

3. Molecular Breeding- A Palette of
Technologies Revolutionizing Breeding...
Molecular diagnostics to provide, accurate and quicker identification of plants
pathogens.
Tissue culture to enable mass propagation of improved and disease-free
planting material
Molecular breeding and marker assisted selection to identify and evaluate
desirable traits in breeding programmes
Gene technology/genetic modifications to introduce of one or more genes,
often across species barriers into plants,, conferring potentially useful traits into
crop plants
Functional genomics/structural genomics: molecular characterisation of genes
and the connection of traits with their respective genes, increasing opportunities
to target interventions in breeding

4. Gene technology a toolbox for more efficient
and more precise breeding and tailor made
bioresource production systems
......and the development just begun!

5. USD/genome
2001 500 MUSD
2007 1 MUSD
2008 100 000 USD
2012 1000 USD
2020 1000 USD
The bioscience revolution moves faster and faster
…. It took 300 researchers 10 years to sequence
the human genome, which today would take 1
researcher 1 week!!!!

7. What is in the pipeline?
Soon (2-5 years) GM crops with:....
•Improved nutrional composition(e.g Golden rice
• Altered oil compositions
•More effecient nutrient uptake
•Improved drought tolerance...
Further away (10-20 years):....
•Perennial crops.
•More efficient phototosynthesis
•Unlocking the genetic switch....
...More resource efficient crops

9. Plants are chemical
factories

10. Moving the chemical factory
to the fields........
2010 2030 ?

11. Production of non food/feed
agricultural products increasing!
• Development of agroindustrial production systems
producing:
- biofuels, fibres, starch products,
-“green” chemicals”, biodegradable plastics, oils and
lubricants
-detergents, enzymes, cosmetics, fragrances and
flavours, medicinal products
• In the US, massive investments in new biofuel crop
production systems(switchgrass, mischantus...man
made prairie)

12. Production of diesel and
jetfuel directly in the plant

13. To radically changesthe metabolism of cells
requires changing expression of genes encoding
for transkriptionsfactors
Transkriptionsfactors =Director
Genes coding for specific enzymes

14. New types of oil producing crops
Identifying the genetic switch between oil,
starch, proteins opens the possibility to develop
new type of highly productive oil crops
Sunlight+ CO2 + H20 =

15. oils
Wheat Corn
Future oil crops through gene technology
Sugar beats

16. …?The prospect of
biotechnology
sub-Saharan Africa

17. The prospects of biotechnology in SSA
• Using local ”African” crops highly adopted to
agroecological conditions which can give
decent yields under rainfed conditions with
limited input.....

18. Some of the prospects...
•Sweet sorghum, cassava, sweet potato ...: Using
biosciences/genetic engineering to increase sugar contents
and disease resitance...improving genetic base for breeding
•New programmes for finding new African biofuel crops

19. Collaboration platforms helps!
Regional and international
collaboration, public-private
partnerships and multidisciplinary
innovation platforms....... ensuring
that the new biosciences benefit Small
holder farmers in Africa.

20. The BIO-EARN Programme 1998-2010
Building Bioscience Platforms in
Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania

21. The Bio-Innovate Program
contributions to the Eastern Africa
Bio-economy

22. Thank you for listening!!
For more information please
contact
ivar.virgin@sei.se