{"metadata":{"id":"0113ab600e9740be660bc06e4e63019e","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/7125d042-7954-422a-8522-ac3412a0694f/retrieve"},"pageCount":19,"title":"","keywords":[],"chapters":[{"head":"Chapter 1 Introduction: Towards knowledgebased bio-economies in eastern Africa","index":1,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":41,"text":"Ivar Virgin, Stockholm Environment Institute Bio-based economic growth in eastern Africa Science, technology and innovation have a crucial role to play in propelling economic growth, alleviating poverty and contributing to the post-2015 agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in eastern Africa."},{"index":2,"size":81,"text":"The United Nations estimates that Africa's population will increase from today's figure of around 1.1 billion, to approximately 1.6 billion people by 2030 and well over 2 billion by 2050. Much of this population growth will take place in eastern Africa (United Nations 2014). Thus, policymakers in the region are increasingly under pressure to generate economic growth, create new jobs and increase agricultural productivity. At the same time, there is an equally pressing need to protect the environment and ecosystem services."},{"index":3,"size":197,"text":"Long-term economic prospects for countries in eastern Africa-in this case Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda-are tightly bound to their ability to increase their trade (domestic, regional and export) and to integrate into the global economy. The future direction of the global economy is hard to predict, but it seems likely that it will continue to be shaped by the forces of urbanization, globalization and digitalization. Increased trade of bio-resources and more cost-effective agricultural and forestry production systems are also likely to be an important influence on the future global economy. This includes continued development of global value chains for food, feed and a wide range of bio-based products. There will also be continued competition between countries and regions to attract investment, jobs and knowledge in the development of next-generation bio-resource value chains. The urbanization process will continue; the largest wave of urban growth in history is currently taking place and more than half of the world's population now lives in towns and cities. By 2030, this number will increase to almost 60%. Much of this urbanization will unfold in Africa and will be a driver for social, economic and environmental transformation (McGranahan and Martine 2014)."},{"index":4,"size":67,"text":"For eastern Africa, the need to ensure food security will continue to be high on the development agenda. Smallholder farmers will continue to be the major producers of food in eastern Africa for the foreseeable future. Connecting these smallholders to markets, value chains and agro-processing opportunities is increasingly seen as one of the most important tools in elevating agricultural productivity and improving rural livelihoods in the region."},{"index":5,"size":82,"text":"At the same time, the rapid advances of biosciences, including biotechnology and genetic engineering, are changing the way agricultural and forestry resources are developed and used. Modern biosciences are an increasingly powerful tool for improving agricultural productivity and agro-processing and value chains in the region. Adopting the rapid advances in modern biosciences to meet local needs and opportunities is also of crucial importance for the region's agricultural sector. In this context, some of the key questions for policymakers in eastern Africa are:"},{"index":6,"size":19,"text":"• How can African countries, with all their constraints, best use their genetic resources, new technologies and market opportunities?"},{"index":7,"size":33,"text":"• What types of investments in science and technology and bioscience innovation, as well as natural resource management and production systems, can best connect smallholder farmers to markets, value chains and agro-processing opportunities?"},{"index":8,"size":47,"text":"• How to get there? How should these innovation and production systems be developed and supported? What specific investments are needed and how can capacity be built? What strategies and polices need to be put in place? What type of innovation, entrepreneurship and financing models are needed?"},{"index":9,"size":81,"text":"Now is the time for policymakers and stakeholders in eastern Africa to get ready-as others have done around the world-to translate the potential of modern biosciences into products and technologies adapted to local demand. This involves long-term planning and effective prioritization of investment in human capacity, science and technology infrastructure, entrepreneurial capacity and innovation structures. This, in turn, requires leadership, government commitment, regional collaboration, continued donor investment, public and private sector investment and last, but not least, long-term vision and strategies."},{"index":10,"size":138,"text":"In this book, we focus on the countries in eastern Africa (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) which, to a large extent, base their economies on the export of biobased raw materials. There is a reliance on unprocessed agricultural products, such as coffee, tea and cotton, which face increased global competition. The countries are, and will continue to be in the foreseeable future, agrarian economies with large farming communities. Given the range of production constraints, the region is unlikely to be able to compete on the world grain markets. It is also unlikely that these countries will be able to compete, in the short-to medium-term, with the rapidly expanding economies in Asia which are increasing investment in more complex and advanced areas of manufacturing, such as machinery and electronics, and services, such as health and information technology."},{"index":11,"size":168,"text":"The question then is how countries in eastern Africa can respond to the emerging opportunities in a global economy? The region is rich in genetic resources and arable land and has a great variety of agro-ecological niches with significant biomass production potential. Consequently, instead of passively adapting to rapidly changing conditions for bio-based production and value chains, eastern Africa countries must, to a larger extent, develop and strategically invest in the agricultural and bio-processing sector. This route is still open, offering prospects for significant and sustained economic growth. Given this scenario, refinement and adding value to biological and genetic resources in the region is attractive. If the tools of modern biosciences can be effectively brought to bear on these resources, African economies can create, for example, productive, sustainable and high-value food, feed and cash crop systems; innovative agro-industrial production platforms for products, such as biofuels, green chemicals and novel fibres; and new biological materials with custom-made properties which are increasingly in demand in domestic, regional and global markets."},{"index":12,"size":74,"text":"This book explores the potential for, and the roadmap towards, a knowledge-based bioeconomy in eastern Africa. It envisages an economy in which the potential of modern biosciences can be realized, using bioscience innovation adapted to local needs and able to harness opportunities in the region. The book is also connected to the Bio-resources Innovations Network for Eastern Africa Development (Bio-Innovate) program. Bio-Innovate is a regional, broad-based biosciences research and innovation initiative established in 2010."},{"index":13,"size":35,"text":"Bio-Innovate's goal has been to make smallholder farming and bio-resource management more productive and profitable through bioscience innovation. It seeks to link smallholder farmers to new market niches characterized by sustainable and resource-efficient value chains."},{"index":14,"size":33,"text":"The program manages a regional competitive biosciences innovation fund, which has brought together key players from the public and private sector to promote bioscience innovation in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda."}]},{"head":"Towards a knowledge-based bio-economy","index":2,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":74,"text":"Rapid globalization, the advent of new technologies and trade regimes and growing global demand for food, feed, renewable materials and agricultural land, are changing the conditions for agriculture, forestry and utilization of genetic resources worldwide. At the same time, revolutionary achievements in the field of biosciences are propelling a transition towards bio-based alternatives for energy and materials becoming more economically viable and mainstream. This has led to the development of the term 'knowledge-based bio-economies'."},{"index":2,"size":131,"text":"The development of bio-economies is increasingly seen as a tool for creating sustainable economic growth based on renewable resources. This allows a move away from the fossil fuel economy and responds to pressing local and global challenges, including climate change. The development of knowledge-based bio-economies is also seen as a way of developing resourceefficient and productive agricultural systems that are able to adapt to climate change and as a tool to revitalize rural communities, by increasing the production base and the opportunities for adding value locally. Additionally, it has been argued that knowledge-based bio-economies are critical to the development of a more circular economy in which there is recycling of energy and material flows.  (Eaglesham 2006). Since then, there have been several important contributions on the bio-economy, including the following reports:"},{"index":3,"size":16,"text":"• The Bioeconomy to 2030-Designing a policy agenda (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2009)"},{"index":4,"size":11,"text":"• Innovating for sustainable growth-A bioeconomy for Europe (European Commission 2012)"},{"index":5,"size":17,"text":"• The European bioeconomy in 2030-Delivering sustainable growth by addressing the Grand Societal Challenges (European Commission 2012)."},{"index":6,"size":56,"text":"The central feature of a bio-economy is that scientific research and knowledge can be applied to biological resources and agricultural systems not only for the production of food, feed and fibre, but also to an increasingly wide range of agro-industrial and value-added products with potential applications in many sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, industry, chemicals and energy."},{"index":7,"size":92,"text":"The push towards bio-economies is not an example of sudden hype-the concept has been around since ancient times and has developed gradually. Ultimately, a knowledge-based bio-economy optimizes the use of bio-resources and biomass. Globally, 13 billion tonnes of biomass are available with around 60% used as animal feed, 15% for food and 25% for energy or as bio-based industrial feedstock (FAOSTAT 2014). The most important bio-based industrial products today are green chemicals, bioplastics and composites, lubricants, paper and cellulose, building materials and pharmaceuticals. The most important energy products are biogas and biofuels."},{"index":8,"size":31,"text":"Governments around the world are developing strategies that will allow them to take full advantage of bio-economy development. A compilation of some recent national bio-economy strategies is shown in Table 1."},{"index":9,"size":17,"text":"There are three main sectors in which biosciences play a central role-health, agriculture/ forestry, and bio-based industries."},{"index":10,"size":76,"text":"A large and vital part of modern bio-economies is the development of new drugs, functional foods and methods of improving health. Although human and animal health is an important component of the bioeconomy around the world, including Africa, this book does not deal with bioscience innovation connected to health. Nor does it cover in any detail the use of advanced bioscience in forestry and aquaculture, which also is gaining ground particularly in OECD countries (OECD 2009)."},{"index":11,"size":70,"text":"Instead, this book will focus on the application of biosciences in agriculture, environmental protection, agricultural value chains and the agro-processing sector. This reflects the importance of these sectors in eastern Africa and the focus on them by Bio-Innovate. It also reflects the fact that agricultural productivity, the processing of primary produce into highvalue products and the conversion of agro-waste to useful products, constitutes a vital part of the knowledge-based bio-economy."},{"index":12,"size":7,"text":"What should eastern African bio-economies respond to?"},{"index":13,"size":149,"text":"Interpretations of how to translate and implement bio-economy strategies and bioscience R&D agendas vary between countries, stakeholders and actors. In Africa, there is often a challenge in arriving at a shared understanding and approach on how to ensure modern biosciences and a knowledge-based bio-economy have real societal impacts. This includes questions around the challenges a bio-economy should be responding to. Is it about improving agricultural productivity and agro-processing, reducing resource demands, environmental pressures and adjusting to climate change impacts? Is it about expanding bio-resource valueaddition opportunities and converting waste to useful products such as energy? Is it about revitalizing rural communities and improving rural livelihoods? Arguably, the bio-economy covers all of these issues. Responses to these questions will impact funding priorities, choices of policy instruments and market development. For countries in eastern Africa, it is therefore important to develop a common understanding on what knowledge-based bio-economies should respond to."},{"index":14,"size":102,"text":"An appealing vision for many eastern Africa countries would be to use their bio-resources as a strategic base for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and development into effective and sustainable bio-economies. The aim of such a vision could be, for example, to increase rural-urban trade and revitalize rural areas. It could also be aimed at new marketdriven agricultural value chains through which countries in the region could produce their own processed food and agro-industrial products. Such developments, coupled with appropriate institutional design, could lead to substantial increases in employment and income for the both the rural and urban poor in these countries."},{"index":15,"size":93,"text":"The development of future bio-economies in eastern Africa is complex and challenging and requires cross-sectorial action at several levels. A first essential step would be to develop a long-term vision on how such bio-economies could be shaped and strategies on how to get there. The broad issues above also show that for the bioscience revolution and the agroindustrial expansion to propel a bio-based economy, international collaboration and strategic thinking are required. The expansion of agro-industrial, bio-based production in eastern Africa has significant potential to support several critical development goals in the region, including:"},{"index":16,"size":23,"text":"• Developing new value-addition chains, improving profitability for small-scale farming systems and enabling more investment and increasing farm productivity, including of food crops."},{"index":17,"size":20,"text":"• Promoting environmental sustainability and addressing climate change. This includes converting bio-waste, which is currently polluting ecosystems, to useful products."},{"index":18,"size":12,"text":"• Enhancing energy security and bio-based renewable energy alternatives to non-renewable resources."},{"index":19,"size":24,"text":"• Expanding the agro-industry, which, if well planned, regulated and supported, could improve economic competitiveness for many countries in eastern Africa in the long-term."},{"index":20,"size":12,"text":"However, ideally, it is important that, the development of bio-economies should not:"},{"index":21,"size":31,"text":"• Outcompete the production of staple foods for large parts of the local population and undermine the efforts of countries in eastern Africa to become self-reliant in basic and essential foodstuffs."},{"index":22,"size":13,"text":"• Make small and marginal farmers landless when allowing plantations for agro-industrial products."},{"index":23,"size":8,"text":"• Undermine the livelihoods of the rural poor."},{"index":24,"size":6,"text":"• Lead to loss of biodiversity."},{"index":25,"size":6,"text":"• Endanger environmental and health safety."}]},{"head":"Getting to knowledge-based bio-economies","index":3,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":93,"text":"Despite the promising outlook, countries in eastern Africa face problems and challenges in building a knowledge-based bio-economy. Innovation is a complex process, which is dependent on functional policies, institutions, financial and human resources. Encouragingly, countries in eastern Africa have started the process of developing a more enabling environment for bioscience innovation and the necessary structures and policies are emerging. In this context, it is important to add that there is no single, one-fits-all solution for the development of knowledge-based bio-economies. Indeed, there may be a number of possible pathways for countries to follow."},{"index":2,"size":129,"text":"The ability to apply modern biosciences is slowly but surely building in the R&D sector in eastern Africa. However, scientific and technical knowledge is only one limiting factor for adoption and deployment of bioscience innovations-there are also structural and policy constraints. Effective and efficient national regulatory systems and incentive systems are important for countries to benefit from bioscience innovation and the development of a bioeconomy. Many countries in Africa have put significant effort into developing national science, technology and innovation policy frameworks. These policies are, however, often of a general character and poorly implemented. Nevertheless, there is increased recognition among policymakers in the region that building a more dynamic bio-based sector, creating jobs and raising the profitability for farmers and agribusinesses, depends on interventions in many areas. These include:"},{"index":3,"size":9,"text":"• Vision, leadership, strategic planning and concrete priority setting."},{"index":4,"size":17,"text":"• Conducive long-term policies, stimulating innovation and creating market demand for a greater diversity of bio-based products."},{"index":5,"size":13,"text":"• Favourable conditions for entrepreneurial development, both in the private and public sectors."},{"index":6,"size":9,"text":"• Access to affordable financing, credit and venture capital."},{"index":7,"size":25,"text":"• Capability to assess the economic potential of investment in a bio-economy, both at the governmental and public institution level, and in the private sector."},{"index":8,"size":31,"text":"• Support for innovation structures in the public and the (domestic) commercial sector. This includes efforts to increase understanding in public institutions on key aspects regarding technology and diffusion and commercialization."},{"index":9,"size":17,"text":"• Strengthening the links between research institutions and the market and between public and private sector actors."},{"index":10,"size":128,"text":"The public sector has a critical role to play in adopting and disseminating promising bioscience innovations to a broad spectrum of agricultural and agro-processing actors and for various societal needs. In knowledge-intensive areas such as the biosciences, the existence of a strong public sector research base is important for ensuring that promising bioscience technologies are made available to a broad set of actors, and that they also address social, environmental and other societal issues. University technology transfer activity is increasingly recognized by policymakers in a growing number of countries as a powerful driver of innovation and economic growth. In eastern Africa, public research organizations and universities are important in adopting and adapting modern biosciences to broader societal needs, including those of smallholder farming systems and local agro-processing actors."},{"index":11,"size":50,"text":"Unfortunately, although public R&D is important for inclusive knowledge development, innovation and deployment, public research organizations and universities in the region have not been effective in moving ideas and technologies beyond research. Consequently, R&D investments and promising bioscience research outputs seldom move out of the laboratory and into the market."},{"index":12,"size":66,"text":"Therefore, supporting initiatives that effectively link public research organizations, universities and market actors will dramatically improve the chances of eastern African farmers, agribusinesses and agro-processors benefitting from the rapidly advancing field of bioscience. Business incubators linking public research organizations, universities and market actors are also key to improving the chances of bioscience innovation benefits reaching smallholder farmers, resource-poor communities and a broader set of market actors."}]},{"head":"The structure of this book","index":4,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":79,"text":"This book builds on the achievements and experiences of Bio-Innovate in moving bioscience innovations to the marketplace and discusses the broader topic of bio-economy and its prospects in eastern Africa. There are nine chapters of which this introduction is the first. Chapter 2, 'Economic prospects of bio-economy development in eastern Africa', discusses the potential economic impact of a bio-economy in eastern Africa in terms of local economic and rural development, the creation of new businesses opportunities and environmental benefits."},{"index":2,"size":87,"text":"Chapter 3, 'Bio-entrepreneurship in Asia: some learnings to accelerate innovation', presents the trends in global bio-economy development using the impressive progress in Asia as an example. The chapter describes the successful development of Asian small-and-medium-sized bio-enterprises producing a rich array of various bio-based products at a commercial level. Many Asian governments have been active in supporting bioscience R&D, as well their links to bio-enterprises. This has been achieved through creating an enabling environment for innovation and support systems for incubating and linking actors in the innovation chain."},{"index":3,"size":54,"text":"In Chapter 4, 'Bioscience innovation systems for an African bio-economy' using the innovation system approach to deliver bioscience applications for societal use is discussed. The authors show that despite the many limitations, a number of countries in Africa are turning a corner and putting in place reforms and initiatives that will stimulate bioscience innovation."},{"index":4,"size":37,"text":"Chapter 5, 'Moving bio-innovations to the marketplace: Lessons from the Bio-Innovate program', discusses the role played by Bio-Innovate in the biosciences arena in the region and its key achievements and experiences during its five years of implementation."}]}],"figures":[{"text":"  "},{"text":" The concept of the knowledge-based bio-economy was first defined byEnríquez, Cabot  and Martínez (1998). In Europe, the idea of a bio-based economy has been discussed since the late 1990s and was officially introduced in 2005 by the European Commission through a document titled 'En route to the bio-based economy'. Another pioneer in defining the term modern bio-economy was Professor Eaglesham who authored a conference paper titled 'Linking biotechnology, chemistry and agriculture to create new value chains' in the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing in 2006  "}],"sieverID":"8ff5257a-3ba3-438c-8b00-f01a9446250f","abstract":""}