Issue No 015,July 2019

TECHNOPOLICYAFRICA
ISBN 978-9966-124-97-5

ATPS ATATPS @ 25: Concept note and call for papers- Using STI as a means forachieving the SDGs

ATPS appoints new Board of Directors

Contents

EDITO RI A L TE A M
Editor in Chief:
Dr. Nicholas Ozor
Editor:Nita Karume
Contributors:
Violet Nyabaro
Dr. Kingsley Ukoba
Prudence Njiru
Prof. M A DubeDr. Okpiri Chibuzo I
Dr. Maha Abdallah
Dr. Nicholas Ozor
Nita Karume
Design and Layout:
Nita Karume

ATPS Vision:
To use Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as a means for achieving
sustainable development in Africa.
ATPS Mission:
To improve the quality of science, technology and innovation (STI) systems
research, policy and practice by strengthening capacity for STI knowledge
generation, dissemination, and use for sustainable development in Africa.
Overall Objective:
To build Africa’s capabilities in science, technology and innovation for sustainable
development.
ATPS Motto:
Building Africa’s capabilities in science, technology and innovation policy
research, policymaking and policy implementation for sustainable development.

Inside...
• ATPS Vision• Chairman’s Message• Executive Director’s Message• ATPS appoints new board members• ATPS signs MOU with AAS• ATPS annual staff retreat• Feature: Science, Technology and Innovation; is it the Answer to Food Security?
• Climate Change: Cooking method, air quality and respiratory health in Africa• Climate smart agriculture: The Nigerian Experience• Evaluation of some Marine Seaweed as Food Supplements• Interview• Scholarships/Opportunities2 											www.atpsnet.org

Chairman’s message

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Chairman’s message
ATPS, in line with the Phase VIII
Strategic Plan (2017-2022), has
shifted its focus from the usual
programmatic
approachtoemphasize on a sectoral approachby identifying Africa’s priorities forsustainable development. Basedon this, the annual stakeholders’forum that convened in July 2016
identified four key sectoral areas
including Agriculture, Food andnutrition; Energy; Climate change
and environmental management;
and Health innovations.
Under the Climate change andenvironmental management sector,
ATPS continues with its work inbuilding climate change resilient
capacities at individual, institutionaland systematic levels on thecontinent. We continue to further the
impact of the project Developing an
Innovation-led BioEconomy Strategy
for Eastern Africa (BISEA), which isbuilt on the premise that it is now
high time for countries in the region
to apply more systematically biobased knowledge for economictransformations that will respond to
local development needs.
				
			

We thus continue to forge ahead
with the assessment of the overall
performance of the Network as
well as the quality of STI capacity
development activities while providing
strategic supervision and guidance to
the ATPS Secretariat management.

Prof. Crispus Kiamba,
Chair, ATPS Board of Directors				
On behalf of the board, I am pleased
to welcome two new members to
the Board of Directors. Professors
Onwalu Peter and Ifejika are bothexperts in their respective fields ofScience, Technology and Innovation.

Lastly, ATPS activities are wellknown within both scientific andacademic communities in most of
the countries in which we have our
local chapters. However, we can, at
best, claim moderate awareness andor recognition among government
functionaries in these countries.
Further still, the awareness of theactivities and goals of ATPS within theprivate sector remains wanting in our
representative countries. As such, wecall upon all of you to support us inthis endeavor as we seek for morepartnerships that will help us promote
the formulation of effective policies
including those that drive and affectsocial and economic developments
at national and regional levels.

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3Executive Director’s message

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Executive Director’s message

W

elcome to the second
edition of the Technopolicy
Africa 2019. This July
Edition highlights significant events,
challenges as well as achievementsof the ATPS during the quarter.
Generally, I am delighted to apprisethat ATPS continues to soar higher in
its mission to promote the generation,dissemination, mastery and use of
Science Technology and Innovation(STI). In the course of the quarter,
ATPS has been involved in several
notable projects and activities; all ofwhich have been highlighted in the
newsletter.
Most notable is the ATPS staff retreat
that took place from the 7th-9th May
at the ATPS offices. The retreat’s
main aim was to look back at ATPS’successes, challenges faced along
the way as well as charting theway forward in line with the current
strategic plan. ATPS Staff were taken
through team building by one of thefounding members and premier
Executive Director of ATPS, Professor
Osita Ogbu.
Among the series of activities ATPS is
engaged in this year is the Recirculate
project: Driving Eco-Innovation in
Africa: Capacity Building for a Safe
Circular Water Economy. The project
aims to support new partnershipbased
approaches
toenableAfrican researchers and research
institutions to grow transformational
impact (https://atpsnet.org/projects/
recirculate-driving-eco-innovation-inafrica-capacity-building-for-a-safecircular-water-economy/).

I am also pleased to bring to yourattention that ATPS has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) with the Africa Academy of
Sciences (AAS) for the purposes ofenhancing cooperation, interaction
and knowledge sharing between
the two organizations on Science,
Technology and Innovation research,
policy and practice in Africa. Moredetails on the same are in the news
section of this newsletter.

Dr. Nicholas Ozor,
Executive Director,
ATPS
It thus brings me joy to inform youthat three of the ATPS staff who
participated in the Knowledge
Exchange & Engagement andEntrepreneurship&
Innovation
workshops that were held in
Lilongwe, Malawi and Kitwe, Zambia
respectively, managed to comeup with proposals and secured
residencies
at the Lancaster
University for a month. Read on tofind out more details on the same.

Most importantly, I am also happy
to inform that the ATPS received
a new grant from the Switzerland
Development Cooperation (SDC)
through the BioVision Africa Trust(BvAT) for the “Mainstreaming of
EcologicalOrganic
Agriculture
Initiative (EOA-I) in the Agricultural
Systems in Africa”. The overall goalof the initiative is to contribute tomainstreaming of Ecological Organic
Agriculture into national agricultural
production systems by 2025 andto improve agricultural productivity,
food security, access to markets
and sustainable development in
Africa. ATPS will implement activities
under the Initiative worth about USD
684,000 for four years.
We thank all our donors and partners
and continue to solicit for their support
to enable ATPS improve the quality of
STI policy research, policy making
and implementation in Africa bybuilding the capabilities of individuals
and institutions to achieve sustainable
development on the continent. Not toforget our continuous efforts towards
the realization of our current Phase
VIII Strategic Plan (2017-2022).

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CONCEPT NOTE AND CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE 2019
ATPS ANNUAL FORUM, CONFERENCE AND SILVERJUBILEE

THEME: Using Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as a means for achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa
Hosted by:
The African Technology
Policy Studies Network (ATPS) and Partners
Partners so far:
· Government of Kenya· Government of Nigeria· AFREXIMBANK· African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)· African Academy of Sciences (AAS)· Stockholm Environment Institute, Africa Centre (SEI-Africa)
30-31 October, 2019
Venue: Crowne Plaza Hotel Nairobi, Kenya
Contacts:
Executive Conference Organizing Committee (ECOC)
African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
8th Floor, The Chancery, Valley Road
P.O. Box 10081-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254-20-2714092/2714498/2723800
Fax: +254-20-2714028
Email: atpsconference2019@atpsnet.org
Website: http://atpsnet.org
Skype: ATPS Network

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1.0

BackgroundThe development of and attention to science and technology in Africa took center stage in the 1980s with
African governments making commitments through their Heads of States to allocate at least 1% of theirgross domestic products (GDPs) to research and development (R&D) as well as scientific and technologicalcapabilities in what is popularly known as the Lagos Plan of Action for the economic development of Africa
1980-2000. This was against the background that Africa at that time was unable to point to any significant
growth rate or satisfactory index of general well-being for almost two decades. Faced with this situation, anddetermined to undertake measures for the basic restructuring of the economic base of the continent, theAfrican leaders resolved to adopt a far-reaching regional approach based primarily on collective self-reliancewhich included putting science and technology in the service of development by reinforcing the autonomous
capacity of our countries in this field.
They noted that the role of science and technology in integrated rural development requires among other things
the generation of financial resources and political will and courage on the part of policy and decision-makers to
induce a profound change with far-reaching effects on the use of science and technology as the basis of socioeconomic development. A well-developed science and technology base and its appropriate application willlead to developments in other sectors such as agriculture; transport and communications; industry, including
agro-allied industries; health and sanitation; energy; education and manpower development; housing, urban
development and environment among others. Countries were urged to develop appropriate policies andprogrammes that will utilize the power of science and technology to sustain growth and development. Amongthe early adopters in the development of science and technology policies since the Lagos Plan of Action were
Ethiopia (1992), Tanzania (1996), Zambia (1996),
Botswana (1998), Nigeria (1998) and Ghana (2000). Other countries followed later.
One very remarkable outcome of the Plan of Action was the support and strengthening of regional andsub-regional science and technology organizations in Africa with a call to Member States and international
agencies to provide resources to enable them attain full operational levels. It was during this period that two
distinct networks emerged in Africa: the Eastern and Southern Africa Technology Policy Studies (EATPS) andthe Western Africa Technology Policy Studies (WATPS). These networks promoted and advocated for theuse of science and technology as a means for achieving socioeconomic development in the regions. They
facilitated the development of most of the science and technology policies in most of the African countries
earlier mentioned. However, in 1994, the EATPS and WATPS came together under one platform that led tothe birth of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) with its secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya under
the East and Southern Africa Regional Office of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
The ATPS has since then grown in leaps and bounds. In 2001 ATPS became an autonomous internationalorganization with diplomatic status in Kenya and working on transdisciplinary science, technology andinnovation (STI) themes for African development.
Whilst retaining the STI focus, ATPS has moved towards a “knowledge for development” network of
researchers, policymakers, private sector and civil society actors that promote the generation, dissemination,
use and mastery of science, technology and innovation for Africa’s development, environmental sustainability
and global inclusion. We implement our programs through members in National Chapters established in
30 countries (27 in Africa and 3 Diaspora Chapters in Australia, United States of America and the United
Kingdom) with partnerships across the entire 54 African countries. The ATPS is unique in many ways: It is
not only the premier STI institution in Africa; it is unique in the composition of its membership, institutional
structures and implementation activities. Today ATPS is made up of over 1500 members spread across 51
countries in 5 continents. As the premier STI institution in Africa, it has successfully mainstreamed STI in
African development policy dialogues and assisted many African countries to formulate STI policies as well as
develop strategies for its implementation.

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Our work is guided by the needs and aspirations of our stakeholders across Africa which weusually put together in consultation with these stakeholders as a Strategic Plan over five year periods. During
the current ATPS Phase VIII Strategic Plan (2017-2022), we have identified four thematic and five programmatic
priorities of action. The four thematic priorities are: Agriculture, food and nutrition; Energy; Climate change
and environment; and Health innovations, while the five programmatic priorities include: STI policy research,
policymaking and advocacy; Training, sensitization and capacity building; Youth and gender empowerment;
Knowledge brokerage, management and commercialization; and Intra-Africa and global collaboration andpartnerships. Details of these themes and programmes are available online at: https://atpsnet.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/12/ATPS-Phase-VIII-Strategic-Plan-2017-2022_Final.pdf.
These strategic priorities (thematic and programmatic) align very well with most of the development agenda
in Africa including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Africa’s Agenda 2063, the African
Development Bank (AfDB)’s Hi Five Priorities, and the national development agenda and visions in most of theAfrican countries. We aim to seek for supports and collaborations from different institutions and organizations
charged with the implementation of these development agenda especially in Africa. The ATPS has benefitted
and continues to enjoy the support from many development partners, donors and governments at various
levels in the achievement of our mandate.
2.0

ATPS Achievements so far

Since our establishment in 1994 as the premier STI policy research and policymaking network in Africa, the
ATPS has continually impacted on Africa’s STI development in many fronts.
Facilitated the development of STI policies of regional and national governments in Africa: Throughseries of policy research and advocacy actions, the ATPS has facilitated the development of STI policies andstrategies in many African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Benin Republic, Lesotho, Uganda,
Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Liberia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe among many others. The ATPS
made inputs to Consolidated Plan of Action (CPA) of the African Union that metamorphosed into the Science,
Technology and Innovation Strategy (STISA 2024) for Africa. As an accredited institutional member of theAfrican Union Commission (AUC) the ATPS provides inputs to the Specialized Technical Committee on
Education, Science and Technology (STC-EST) of the AUC. The ATPS also developed the first ever African
Manifesto for Science, Technology and Innovation1 that provided a roadmap for attaining socio-economic
development in African through investments in science, technology and innovation.
STI Policy research, capacity building and outreach: The ATPS has supported the conduct of policy
research endeavours in over 30 countries in Africa in the areas of agriculture, energy, climate change andenvironment, health, intellectual property rights, entrepreneurship, etc. These research interventions havegenerated tremendous knowledge products for decision-making in Africa. The ATPS capacity building program
has trained researchers, policymakers, private sector actors, the civil society, extension agents, farmers,
the media and many more and enabled them to accomplish desired goals and objectives for sustainable
development in Africa. We have commissioned and completed over 150 STI research projects; publishedover 500 research papers, policy briefs and reports including some global and regional reports; developed 4
training manuals on different areas of STI including STI policy manual, entrepreneurship training manual andIntellectual Property training manual; facilitated the development of STI policies in about 17 African countries;
trained over 8000 different stakeholders of the ATPS; engaged over 5000 ATPS stakeholders in various eventsin Africa and beyond; conducted over 75 training workshops; signed over 30 MOUs; developed new project
partnerships with other like-minded institutions across Africa and beyond; and launched 2 youth and gender
programs - The Youth Innovation Challenge (Y I CAN) and Women Innovation Challenge (WE CAN) programswith 24 innovation challenge grants awarded among many others. Through one of our programmes, the1

Available online at: http://www.atpsnet.org/Files/the_african_manifesto_for_st&i.pdf

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University, Business and Research in Agricultural Innovation (UniBRAIN), we and our partners have facilitatedthe commercialization of over 110 technologies, created over 12,000 jobs and working with over 50,000
farmers, established 350 SMEs, supported over 280 new businesses across Africa and created linkages withover 20 incubators and mini-incubators across Africa.
Development of practical technologies to help the poor: ATPS in collaboration with the United States
Department of Agriculture, Agriculture and Research Service (USDA-ARS) among other global partners
developed an is out-scaling an award winning LandPKS mobile app technology that enable users instantly
access climatic and soil information at any point given location and use the information generated to makeinformed decisions on their farm enterprises including production, processing, marketing and utilization. ATPS
has won two awards, Wazo Prize and Tekeleza Prize for promoting the adoption and out-scaling of thetechnology in Kenya and continues to receive supports from development partners, donors and governments
to out-scale the technology across Africa. Ranked as the Best Think Tank in Africa: For five consecutive years
now, the ATPS has consistently been ranked by the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report as the best thinktank in Africa (getting the highest number of rankings as well as ranking first in more categories). The 2018
Report released in February 2019 ranks the ATPS as the 1st Top Science and Technology Policy Think Tank in
Africa and 10th globally. The ATPS also ranked tops in many other categories that were used to assess Think
Tanks across the world. Notable among these categories where the ATPS ranked tops are: Best Think Tank
Network; Best Managed Think Tank; Think Tank with the Most Innovative Policy Ideas/Proposals; Think Tank
with the Most Significant Impact on Public Policy; Best Transdisciplinary Research Think Tank; Best Advocacy
Campaign Think Tank; Think Tank with the Best Use of the Internet; and Think Tank with the Best institutional
collaboration involving two or more Think Tanks among many others.
Details of the ranking can be found in the report at: https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.
cgi?article=1017&context=think_tanks
Positive Evaluation Assessments: The latest external evaluation assessment of core funding support to
the ATPS by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands scored the ATPS an “AAA Grade” on the average.
The score was based on ATPS’s effectiveness, efficiency and value for money in all its activities and program
implementation. Responses were received from ATPS stakeholders in Africa and globally. Our annual audits
have shown positive financial responsibility and continuous ability of the ATPS to meet its financial obligations.
3.0

ATPS @ 25: Our Main goal

The main goal of the Annual Forum 2019 is to convene critical mass of STI stakeholders from Africa andbeyond to further discuss how STI can be deployed more effectively to achieve most of the development
agenda in Africa including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Africa’s Agenda 2063, the African
Development Bank (AfDB) Hi Five Priorities, and the national development agenda and visions in Africancountries. We shall use the opportunity to tell ATPS’s story as the premier STI organization and how far wehave fared in our mandate of using science, technology and innovation as a means for achieving sustainable
development in Africa. Most specifically, we hope to achieve the following during the event:
1. Present and discuss relevant and topical issues on how STI can be further deployed to more effectively achieve sustainable development in Africa
2. Tell ATPS’s story in championing STI development in Africa for 25 years
3. Relaunch the ATPS Phase VIII Strategic Plan 2017-2022
4. Provide opportunity for networking among STI stakeholders across the continent and beyond.
5. Present papers that address the main theme and subthemes of the conference
6. Celebrate and honour ATPS Legends and Champions
4.0

Conference subthemes and call for papers

Five inter-related priority subthemes have been identified to buttress the main goal of the Annual Forum,
Conference and ATPS Silver Jubilee. Papers are therefore being invited from experts under the subthemes.
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Sub-themes:
1. Science, technology and innovation priorities for Africa’s development- This sub-theme focuseson how STI is driving Africa’s development Agenda in the context of STISA 2024 and in achieving the SDGs
on the continent. As the African Union has developed a long-term agenda 2063 for the continent, science,technology and innovation is playing a major role. The strategy aims to address the challenges that hinderdevelopment in critical sectors such as agriculture, energy, environment, health, infrastructure, mining, security
and water using STI. What does Africa need to do to enhance the use of STI as a means for achieving thesustainable development goals? Has STI been mainstreamed enough in national development agendas inAfrica in terms of investments, research and policy
2. The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Africa’s Readiness- The fourth industrial revolution is the current
and developing environment in which disruptive technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT),
robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way we live and work. This year’s(2019) World Economic Forum theme of Globalisation 4.0 addressed the fourth industrial revolution which istaking place globally at an unpredictable rate. Is Africa ready? How effective is the infrastructure in Africa tosupport these disruptive technologies that will enhance the fourth industrial revolution? Do African countries
have enough capacity to exploit these emerging technologies? What needs to be done to support the use of
these disruptive technologies in Africa?
3. Improving Africa’s Intra-Africa Trade using science, technology and innovation- There are manyreasons for the low intra-African trade including: weakness of physical and human infrastructure, small size ofindividual African country markets, residual tariffs and onerous non-tariff measures (NTM) on processed andsemi-processed African products by both developed and emerging markets, export constraints and otherpre-border barriers, absence of trade finance, institutional constraints on enterprise growth and inability toachieve scale, currency risk, corruption and rent-seeking clientelism, and civil disruption among many others.
The abundance of interest, capital, opportunities, and promises in technology such as artificial intelligence (AI)reminds one of mobile technology just 10 years ago. Mobile money transfer technology took the continent bystorm but this has not really translated to significant increases in intra-Africa trade due to the different levelsof adoption of the technology in Africa as well as challenges in the development of the required infrastructure.
Will technology/automation and AI do to African nations over the next decade what mobile technology did
to them in the last one, fueling a dramatic rise in connectivity and unlocking significant gains in economic
development? Like mobile technology and communication capabilities, will technology/automation and AI
permit African nations to dramatically increase their research, development, and production capabilities?Willtechnology/automation and AI give African nations even more power to leapfrog the need for old-fashioned
infrastructure and outdated strategies of industrialization? In essence, how can intra-Africa trade be realizedusing STI?
4. Funding science, technology and innovation priorities for Africa’s development- African leaders
have always committed to increasing funding for national, regional and continental programmes for scienceand technology and support the establishment of national and regional centres of excellence in science andtechnology. So far only a handful of the countries have implemented that. Funding for research in Africa is still
very low hence very low emergence of new technologies and innovations. This has severely limited growthand development in Africa. How can African governments increase funding to STI? Has the private sector
sufficiently contributed to funding research in Africa? Are the African universities and research organizations
contributing enough in funding research in Africa?
How can development partners significantly contribute to STI development in Africa?
5. Gender and inclusivity in science, technology and innovation- The persistent gender inequalities
and exclusivity in Africa can be explained by lack of relevant policies, inadequate and improper curriculum
content and strategies, poor didactic materials and negative culture and attitudes which discourage womenfrom training and/or working as scientists, technologists or engineers and the youth from assuming highwww.atpsnet.org 											

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positions of authority in the polity.
This theme focusses on identifying successful international best practices that should be learned, adapted
and wisely implemented in Africa to encourage inclusivity and gender mainstreaming in STI.
The gender mainstreaming of science and technology policy formulation and review processes have not been
sufficient enough to reflect the level of gender awareness that has been created and attitude changes made.
What actions need to be taken to ensure there is gender and inclusivity in STI? What data are required to
inform decision making on gender inclusivity in STI?
i.

Expected Outputsi)ii)

Published annual forum and conference proceedings;
A communiqué summarising key recommendations for African policymakers and development
partners.
iii) Two Policy Briefs
Expected Outcomes

5.0

i)
ii)

Increased and renewed recognition and deployment of STI as a means for achieving sustainable
development in Africa by policymakers, science experts, private sector actors and civil society
actors; andStrengthened networks amongst STI actors in Africa.

Conference Methodology

6.0

The ATPS@25 Annual Forum will be a two-day event that will bring together stakeholders including network
members, donors and financiers, beneficiaries and government officials from across Africa. The event will
adopt participatory approaches to engage stakeholders in relevant discussions. For the main theme and subthemes, there will be high level presentations by experts in the field and panel discussions on some of the subthemes. In all, there will be enough time for stakeholder discussions and dialogue on the different subthemes.
About 200 delegates are expected from across the 54 African countries and beyond during the Annual Forum,
Conference and ATPS Silver Jubilee celebration. Delegates will be drawn from the academia and research
institutions, policymakers and high-level government officials, organized private sector actors, informal sector,
civil society actors, development partners, donors and financiers, and the Fourth estate among many others.
Detailed programme of event will be published as we approach the dates of the event.
Key programme of events:
·
·
·
·
·
·
·

Opening ceremony and key messages from donors, sponsors and partners
A Masterclass on the theme: Using Science, Technology and Innovation as a means for Achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa
Plenary presentations on the selected sub-themes
Relaunch of the ATPS Phase VIII Strategic Plan 2017-2022
Celebration of ATPS champions and legends. All Foundation Members of the ATPS, past Executive
Directors and Directors, Chairs of ATPS Board of Directors, Core Donors, etc. will receive honours
awards.
Exhibition of science, technology and innovation products and services from around Africa
Press conference

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6.1 Conference Exhibitions and Side Events
An exhibition area will be organized during the conference at the same venue. To showcase technologies
and innovations, or institutions working in the subject area, exhibitors are requested to apply in advanceto atpsconference2019@atpsnet.org Spaces for the exhibition will be very limited and will be allocated on
first-come first-served. Target Exhibitors will be on innovative science, technology and innovation products,
prototypes, etc. produced as a result of research, good policies and practical applications of innovations andthe institutions promoting such.
7.0

Conference Venue and Date:

Dates:
Venue:

30 – 31 October 2019
The Crowne Hotel, Nairobi Kenya

7.1

Conference Delegates:

Delegates from all STI policy stakeholders (policymakers, researchers, private sector actors, and civil society)in the developing, emerging and developed countries with interest in STI capacity strengthening for sustainable
development in Africa are welcome to attend the conference and workshops. Key policy making and policy
implementation arms of Africa including the African Union Commission (AUC), Regional Economic Commissions(RECs); the United Nations Organizations/Agencies (UN); African national governments; researchers; private
sector actors; civil society actors; and key development partners, philanthropies and donor agencies fromdeveloped, emerging and developing countries are particularly encouraged to attend.
8.0

Conference Registration Procedure:

All conference participants are required to register and at least one author per paper must attend. Online
registration is open until 20 October 2019 at:
http://atpsnet.org/2019atpsconferences/
Conference registration conditions vary depending on the country of origin and the package selected.
The registration rates are as follows:

ATPS Registered members
Delegates from Africa and other developing countries
Delegates from developed countries
Post graduate students above 35 year oldStudents/Youth Entrepreneurs between 18 – 35 years
Institutional Exhibition fee
Innovation/Technology Exhibitions

$50
$100
$150
$50
Free
$1000
$1000

ATPS and its partners plan to support the participation of pre-selected delegates including keynote andinvited speakers and key policy stakeholders, ATPS Board members, Regional Council members; International
Responsible STI Council members; National Chapter Coordinators/Focal points; Secretariat Staff; Program
Regional and National Steering Committees members; AWFST Executives; AYFST Executives; Program
Coordinators; Travel grant letters will be issued to qualifying delegates in advance.
All other delegates will be fully responsible for their participation including registration, travel, accommodationand subsistence costs during the conference period, etc. The ATPS and its partners are under no obligations
to bear any responsibilities for unsupported delegates.
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9.0
Submission Guidelines:
We particularly invite contributions to the conference that address the above theme and sub-themes from aninterdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approach.
i.
Abstracts:
Abstracts of 350-500 words are invited from prospective conference participants. The abstracts should
contain the title of the paper, name(s) of the author(s), contact information, 5 keywords and biographicalnotes about the author(s). Authors are also invited to indicate the conference sub-theme pertaining to theirpapers. All abstracts will be anonymously evaluated by the Conference Technical Committee on the basis of
the following criteria: originality and creativity; clarity of content; contribution to the knowledge base/ evidencebase; linkages with research, policy and practice; relevance and timeliness in terms of findings and conclusion.
Abstracts will also be selected based on their relevance to one or more of the conference theme/subthemes.
A book of selected abstracts will be published and made available during the conference. The deadline for thesubmission of abstracts is 12 September 2019. All submissions should be made to: atpsconference2019@atpsnet.org
ii.
Full Paper submission:
Candidates whose abstracts are selected are expected to submit their full papers by 20 October 2019. The
papers shall be evidence-based and can be theoretical, empirical or policy oriented, and can approach theissues from a range of disciplinary, but preferably trans-disciplinary perspectives. Papers submitted will bepeer-reviewed for originality, technical and research contents, depth correctness, relevance to the conference
themes, contribution to knowledge, readability, etc.
The full paper should be between 4000-6000 words, A4 word format, one column, font size: 12pt, Times New
Roman, 1.5 spaces, margin width (2cm). Papers shall include the following: Title of the paper, Full name(s)of the author(s), contact details, Abstract (250words), 5 keywords. References shall be in APA format. All
submissions should be made to: atpsconference2019@atpsnet.org
10.0 Conference Language:
The official languages of the conference are English and French. However, the submission of abstract and full
papers must be in English. Simultaneous interpretation in the official languages during the Annual Forum andconference will be ensured.
11.0

Summary of Annual Forum and Conference Schedule:

Dates

Activities

12 August 2019

Announcement of the call for papers

12 September 2019

Deadline for submission of abstract

20 September 2019

Notification of Abstract Acceptance

20 October 2019

Deadline for the submission of full papers to be considered for publication

23 October 201930-31 October 2019

Deadline for the submission of PowerPoint Presentation
Annual Forum, Conference and Silver Jubilee Celebration

12.0

Our budget for the 2019 annual forum/ conference/ silver jubilee:

In order to effectively organize the ATPS@25 Annual Forum the organizing committee has drawn up a budgetof about US$500,000 to take care of the costs of participation of some of the stakeholders to the event. Selfsponsored delegates are highly encouraged. The cost of the event is made up of travel costs, accommodation
costs, subsistence costs, conference costs, and cost of plaques and Silver Jubilee items among others.
To enable us meet these costs, we kindly request for supports and sponsorships from our multiple donors,
partners and governments. As part of appreciating the supports that will be given, we will offer series ofbenefits in accordance to the level of supports or sponsorships received as enumerated in the table below:
12 											www.atpsnet.org

ATPS
@

the ATPS Silver Jubilee Celebration
Amount (US$)

Table 1: Categories of Sponsorship for

S/n

Types ofSponsorshipBenefits

1

P l a t i n u m US$ 100,000 and · Receive a Platinum award for supporting STI development in Africa
Sponsorabove· Make a pitch during the event· Have Logo in all ATPS@25 promotional materials for the event· Promote Organization in the widely read ATPS Technopolicy Newsletterfor one year

2

Gold Sponsor < US$ 100,000- · Receive a Gold award for supporting STI development in Africa
US$ 50,000· Make a pitch during the event· Have Logo in all ATPS@25 publication materials for the event· Promote Organization in the widely read ATPS Technopolicy Newsletterfor six months

3

S i l v e r < US$ 50,000-US$ · Receive a Silver award for supporting STI development in Africa
Sponsor
20,000· Make a pitch during the event· Have Logo in all ATPS@25 promotional materials for the event· Promote Organization in the widely read ATPS Technopolicy Newsletterfor three months

4

B r o n z e <US$20,000- · Receive a Bronze award for supporting STI development in Africa
Sponsor
US$10,000· Make a pitch during the event· Have Logo in all ATPS@25 promotional materials for the event· Promote Organization in the widely read ATPS Technopolicy Newsletterfor one months

5

E x h i b i t i o n US$1000-US$5000 · Availability of an exhibition space during the event
Space· Have Logo in all ATPS@25 promotional materials for the event

ATPS Accounts for the Silver Jubilee
Name & Address of Bank:

Commercial Bank of Africa
Upper Hill Branch, Mara/Ragati Road, P.O. Box 30437-00100, Nairobi,
Kenya. Tel: 254-20-2884000
Bank Branch Code:		
07000
Account Name:		African Technology Policy Studies Network
Account Number:		
6572770025
BIC/Sort/SWIFT Code:CBAFKENX
Currency of Account: US DOLLARS
For further information on sponsorship, please contact:
Executive Director,
African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
8th Floor, Chancery Building, Valley Road;
P.O. Box 10081-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
Email: executivedirector@atpsnet.org
Telephone: +254 (0) 20 2714092 (Landline); +254 (0) 713161928 (Mobile);
Website: https://atpsnet.org/

www.atpsnet.org 											

13Technopolicy News

News

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

ATPS appoints new Board of Directors

A

TPS is proud to welcome two new members to the Board of Directors. Professors Azikiwe Peter and Chinwe Ifejika
join the ATPS Board in their work of formulating and monitoring the implementation of policies and procedures
designed to fulfill the network’s objectives. They bring to the table expertise in their different fields in Science,
Technology and innovation.

Professor Azikiwe Peter Onwalu works with African University of Scienceand Technology (AUST), Abuja, Nigeria where he serves as the Coordinator,
Materials Science and Engineering Programme and Director, Academic
Planning. He is also involved in the leadership of two World Bank assisted
projects at AUST; Focal Point for Partnership for Skills in Applied Science andEngineering (PASET) and Co-Centre Leader, Pan African Materials Institute(PAMI), an Africa Centre of Excellence in Materials
He holds B.Eng. and M.Eng. Degrees in Agricultural Engineeringfrom the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a PhD degree in the same
field from the Technical University of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canada.

Professor Azikwe Peter Onwalu
Prof. Onwualu has held different positions in the past including: Professor and Head, Agricultural Engineering
Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Director, Engineering Infrastructure, National Agency for Science andEngineering Infrastructure, NASENI, Abuja, Director General/CEO, Raw Materials Research and Development
Council, RMRDC, Abuja (Federal Ministry of Science and Technology) and Visiting Professor, National Universities
Commission, NUC, Abuja. Others include: Coordinator, Science Technology and Innovation (STI) thematic group of
Nigeria’s Vision 20-2020; Chairman, Committee of Directors of Research Institutes of Nigeria, CODRI and Chairman
Nigerian Society of Engineers’ Presidential Committee on Engineering Technology and Innovation. He was Editorin-Chief Nigeria Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology. He is a Fellow of 12 professional bodies
including: Nigeria Institute of Management, Nigeria Academy of Engineering and Nigeria Academy of Science.

Chinwe Ifejika Speranza is a Professor of Geography and Sustainable
Development at the Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Switzerland. She
heads the research unit Sustainable Land Management and Land Systems.
Her research focuses on land management and land use, their interactions withbiophysical processes, and how they shape the conditions of natural resources
such as soil, water and vegetation, their interlinkages with livelihoods, foodsecurity, climate change and climate risks, and environmental governance. She
teaches and supervises theses at PhD, Masters and Bachelor-levels. She servesin editorial and scientific advisory committees. She has field experience in subSahara Africa, Sarawak-Malaysia, Bolivia and Switzerland.

Professor Chinwe Ifejika
Speranza14 											www.atpsnet.org

News

Technopolicy News

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

ATPS signs MOU with AAS

T

he African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) and African Academy of Sciences (AAS) signed amemorandum of understanding (MoU) on 13th May 2019 at the ATPS headquarters in Nairobi. This was
as a result of a series of consultations between representatives of the organizations led by Prof. Nelson
Torto, Executive Director AAS and Dr. Nicholas Ozor, Executive Director (ATPS).
During the signing ceremony, both teams reiterated the importance of partnerships with the aim of ensuring
the development of the African countries through the use of Science Technology and Innovations (STI). The
two organizations bring together a wealth of experience and knowledge in the field of STI and focus oncommon priority sectors of Environment and Climate change, Agriculture and Food security, Health andwellbeing and Energy. The two organizations agreed to work together to mutually further the goals of each of
the organizations across the priority sectors identified by both parties.

ATPS/AAS Officials witness the MOU signing (From left): Ms. Christine Kuto, Dr. Isayvani Naicker, Prof.
Nelson Torto, Dr. Nicholas Ozor, Mr. Alfred Nyambane and Ms. Ruth Oriama

AAS also specialize in promoting policy and practice through lobbying and advocacy activities, capacity

building, knowledge brokerage and sensitization as well as generation and dissemination of knowledge
outputs. Dr. Isayvani Naicker, the Director of Strategy and Partnerships (AAS), Ms Christine Kuto, Legal andCompliance Officer (AAS), Alfred Nyambane- Head of Research (ATPS), and Ms. Ruth Oriama Research
Officer (ATPS), witnessed the signing of the MOU.

www.atpsnet.org 											

15

News

Technopolicy News

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

ATPS Staff RetreatTeam building can be described as the process of turning a group of individual
contributing employees into a unified team. The process often includes creating
instances and activities in which the employees use teamwork to achieve a goal.
Teamwork is often a crucial part of a business, as it is often necessary for colleagues to work welltogether, trying their best in any circumstance. This means that people will try to cooperate, using theirindividual skills and providing constructive feedback, despite any personal conflict between individuals.
Teamwork is mandatory for result driven, high performance and a nurturing working environment.
This calls for means and ways of growing and enhancing team work in every organization andone major way is having team members engage in theme based team building program. As
such, ATPS has been organizing staff retreats on an annual basis. This year was no different.
The ATPS staff retreat took place from 7th to 9th May. The team building session was pertinent in thatit served to reminisce on past successes of the organizations as well as the challenges faced. This wastowards the end goal of charting a way forward in line with the current Phase VIII Strategic Plan (2017-2022).
The retreat was held at the ATPS offices. Prof Osita Ogbu, the pioneer and former Executive Director availed himself
for the retreat sessions as a moderator. The retreat sessions covered foundational principles of effectiveness, themain aim of which is to adopt a new concept of personal responsibility, teamwork, and openness of communication.
The ATPS staff also learnt that good and effective work relationships are very important in organizationalchange. Handling conflicts, building supportive work relationships and communicating effectively allcontribute to the formulation of and fostering team spirit and how every staff should align their goals withthat of the organization. The staff and management alike also learnt the importance of observing the systems
put in place that not only ensure good working environment, but also furthers ATPS mission and vision.

ATPS Staff members (From left): Mr. Philip Musembi, Ms. Violet Nyabaro, ms. Nita Karume, Mr. Peter Chege,
Mr. Alfred Nyambane, Ms. nancy Wesonga, Prof. Osita Ogbu (Retreat Moderator), Ms. Ruth Oriama, Dr.
Nicholas Ozor and (at the back) Mr. Mathew Imulia

16 											www.atpsnet.org

STI in Agriculture

STI in Agriculture

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Science, Technology and Innovation; is it the Answer to Food
Security? A case of the Kenyan Agriculture Sector
By Violet NyabaroWorld population growthis projected to reach 9billion people in the year
2050 (Rosegrant et al., 2014). With
growth, humanity is faced withfood insecurity and poor nutrition
challenges accelerated by rapid
widespreadclimatechangeand inadequate technologicalinnovation. The importance andcentrality of technology towards
sustainable food production andensuring food secure households
in SSA is an aspect that requires
attention from national, regionaland global development goals.

Production trends of major
cereals is worrying with per capita
production of maize showing adecline from 129 kg in 1970 to 72
kg per capita in 2000 (Mohajan,2014).

Mechanical technologies:
Agricultural production systems
in Kenya majorly rely on humanlabor (50 %), animal draught
power (20%) and motorized
power (30%) (FAO, 2006).

Further, the ‘Economic Review
of Agriculture, “Kenyan Report”
2008, notes that Kenya is fallingbehind in meeting its supplyof cereals of 3.1 million tons
compared to its production of 2.4
in maize, 280,000 tons vs. 120,000
in rice and 900,000 vs. 360,000 inwheat. A number of technologicalinnovations inagriculture thatcan be used toincrease yields
andaddressthefood security
crisis in SSA
have been
identified.

There has been a documented
increase in purchase of tractors
for production in Kenya from anestimated 6422 in in the sixties to12,844 tractors in the early 2,000translating to about 1 tractor to
195 hectare. However, ownershipof tractors is as low as 5%,
which could be explained withhigh land fragmentation that has
made use of machinery almost
impossible (Bymolt and Zaal,
2015). Given the state of land andwater resources in Kenya where
84 % of the land is ASAL, there
are a varied number of innovative
irrigation technologies that havebeen used for water collection
and distribution for smallholder
producers.
AccordingtoMeinzen-Dick,(2007)
someof these technologies include:
bucket irrigation that takes placein kitchen gardens to a large
extent, gravity fed sprinkler anddrip irrigation, treadle and pedal
pumps,
motorized
pumps,
wind-power and constructionof small earthen dams which
are predominant is water stressregions of Eastern Kenya.

For instance,
Ozor andUrama (2013)
describe thepresenceof andapplicationof new andRecent evidence from across theworld point towards improved
use of agricultural technology
and increased innovations forincreased yields. In Kenya, foodand nutrition security is linked tothe performance of the agricultural
sector.

existing
agricultural technologies such asmechanical,
biologicalandbiochemical, biotechnology andnanotechnology and various
indigenous technologies that are
key to improving productivity.
Some of the technologies
include:		

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17STI in Agriculture

STI in Agriculture

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Biotechnology:
Biotechnology can be used to
impact on food security in a
number of ways such as: increase
crop yields thus contribute tofood production and availability,
improve the economic and social
status of smallholder producers
through surpluses and finally,
biotechnology can be used to
produce nutritionally superior
foods thus improve the food safety
and food quality aspects of foodsecurity. In Kenya, biotechnology
was introduced in use of tissues
culture for various food crops
such as bananas (Wambugu,
2001). Use of this technology
leads to increase in maize yields
by about 50 % compared to useof traditional maize varieties thathave previously been used in
the field trials (Thomson, 2007).
Nanotechnology in Kenya:
Nanotechnology is the scienceof using the smallest biologicalmolecules
forgeneticallyengineering in different fields
such as bio-medical sciences,
telecommunication
andagricultural production (Ozor andUrama, 2013).
In Kenya, the International
Development Research Center(IDRC) in collaboration with the
University of Nairobi has invested
done research on the use of

nanotechnology in reducing postharvest losses in horticultural
crops(UNCTAD,2017).
According to a report by IDRC on‘Enhanced Preservation of Fruits
Using Nanotechnology (CIFSRFPHASE II)’ 2018, the Enhanced
Freshness Formulation (EFF) thathas hexanal as an active ingredientcan be used as pre-harvest sprayor post-harvest and has an ability
to extend fruit shelf by 2-3 weeks
under ambient storage conditions.
By delaying the ripening process, it
is likely to increase farmer income
by 15-20 % since smallholder
producers can negotiate forbetter prices and exercise
marketing timing for their produce(Subramanian et al., 2018).
			
Biological and biochemical
technologies:
Seed type is one of the mostimportant factors contributing to
low crop productivity in Kenya.
Prevalent in the agricultural sector
is use of poor quality seeds
which at times involves recyclingof planting seeds from previous
season and use low yielding
seeds that are poorly suited
to their agro ecological zones
subsequently placing smallholder
producers at a disadvantage
in comparison with producers
across the world who have accessto pest and diseases resistantseeds that are high yielding.
			
Policy recommendations
Technological Needs Assessment(TNA) has to be done before
innovations are done. It is notenough for a technique tobe technically sound, it mustalso be adapted to suit the
specific conditions found on
the ground by understanding
why farmers do what they andways to improve their practices.
Strong institutions and capacity
building is lacking in lightof science and technology
innovation. Research institutions
through government and private
sector involvement need to bewell equipped to encourage
innovation of new technologies.
Increased investment in agriculture
will go a long way in contributing
towards food and nutrition
adequacy. With decentralization
county governments have been
allocated significant responsibilities
in agriculture. This should be utilized
to ensure that agricultural areas in
the grass roots get funding that is
aimed at increasing productivity.

18 											www.atpsnet.org

Climate feature

Climate feature

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Climate smart agriculture: The Nigerian
Experience

By Okpokiri Chibuzo

Dept. of Agribusiness and Management,
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, NigeriaThe high dependency ofdeveloping countries on
agriculture
cannotbeoveremphasized. It is believedthat majority of the working
population in most developing
countries are directly or indirectly
earning a living from agriculture.
It is expected that since majorityof the working population arelinked to agriculture, the sector
will be characterized with top
notch technology and robust
development but that is not thecase in most developing countries
like Nigeria. Agriculture in mostdeveloping countries in Africa
is still characterized with theuse of crude implements, land
fragmentation & tenure system,
inadequate use of use of improved
varieties, rain fed agriculture andagriculture dependent on thevagaries of weather conditions(climatechange)amongstothers. Climate change is thechief challenge among the
aforementioned problems having a
big impact on agricultural output.
Although climate change is world
over, the impact will be felt moreby developing countries in Africa
because of its geography, its soledependence on agriculture and its
generalized incapacity to cope andadapt to climate extremes. climatechange will make it more difficult
to meet the key Sustainable
Development Goal of ending
hunger, achieving year-round foodsecurity, and ensuring sustainable
food production systems by 2030.

Agriculture is a major source ofgreenhouse gas emissions andchange in climate in developing
countries.
Bush burning, excessive tillage,
the use of inorganic fertilizers,
deforestation, etc. are examplesof ways agriculture contribute to
the problem. In the attempt toaddress this problem, climate
smart agriculture (CSA) concept
was developed. It is believedthat climate smart agriculture
will address the complex issueof how to achieve sustainableagricultural growth for foodsecurity under climate change.
Agriculture is said climate smart
when it achieves three main goals:
these are (1) sustainably increasing
agricultural productivity to support
equitable increases in incomes,
food security and development;(2)
adapting
andbuilding
resilience to climate change fromthe farm to national levels; and(3) developing opportunities toreduce GHG emissions fromagriculture compared with pasttrends. It is pertinent to note thatthe tripartite objective of climate
smart agriculture may not be
met at once; importance of eachobjective differs across countries
andsituations.
Developing
countries,
where
agricultural
growth and adaptation for foodsecurity and economic growth area priority, and where poor farmers
are the most affected by climatechange can key into the first andsecond objectives to practiceclimate smart agriculture (CSA).
Although many researchers believethat CSA is a not new agricultural
system nor a set of practice, but is a
new approach, that guide farmers
to adopt the needed changesof agricultural systems, address
food security and climate change.
Most farmers in Nigeria haveunconsciously been practicing
some CSA practices. The paper
tries to create awareness ofclimate smart agricultural practices
and also encourage farmers to
key into these practices as they
improve their product offerings.
Climatesmart
agricultural
practices adopted by most
farmers in Nigeria can begrouped into six (6) categories;
Conservative agriculture: This
practice is concerned with theeffective and efficient use of natural
resources (soil, water, biologicalresources). This is achieved byencouraging farmers to practice
croprotation,permanent
soil cover (cover crops) andreduce soil disturbance throughdirect seeding with reduced
and zero tillage.		

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19Climate feature

Climate feature

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Organic Agriculture: Compost
manure, mulching, oil palm tree
residues, use of cover crops,
crop rotation and planting of
nitrogen fixing legumes that enrich
the soil (nitrogen management)
are common place in organic
agricultural practice. Mixed farmingis also practiced. 		
I.Integrated Crop Management
This practice tries to strike abalance between the use of
inorganic practices like the useof herbicides, inorganic fertilizers,
pesticides and inorganic practices
in other to reduce environmental
pollution and increase efficiency
in input use in a way that avoids
harm to the environment. Farmers
use a combination of both organicand conventional production to
boost their productivity.		
II. Use of Adapted Crop andAnimal Varieties: Improved highyielding drought tolerant varietiesof cereals, grain legumes, roots
and tubers with tolerance to majordisease and pests. In addition, useof improved animal breeds withincreased output and tolerance
to disease and pests are also
practiced. They give yield increase
often more than 100% over local
varieties. 				III. Indigenous Knowledge: To
cope with the negative impactsof climate change, communities
employ traditional/ local andindigenous knowledge based
practices. This helps the farmers
determine to either plant early orlate. It also helps in detecting earlyor late rainfall with a high degree ofcertainty. In the Bauchi area of North
central Nigeria, farmers estimate
early or late commencement ofrainy season by the height at
which birds chose to nest on trees

Challenges of climate smart
agriculture in Nigeria
I. Policy: Review of literatureshows that few governmental
policies are directed to climate
smart agriculture. This is thebiggest challenge to climate
smart agriculture. A good
governmental policy on thesubject matter will help pave way
for farmers to practice sustainableagriculture. It will also encourage
collaborations with international
communities, non-governmentalorganizations, private sector andother stakeholders in fosteringaconducive
environment
for climate smart agriculture
to thrive in the country.
					
II. Lack of awareness:
Most farmers in Nigeria haveunconsciously been practicing
some climate smart agriculture.
There are few adverts and jingles
on the print media and social
medias sensitizing the public on
CSA.
III. Agriculture extension, which
serves as the most effective
way of getting to farmers in
the hinterlands are ill equippedand poorly funded. This haveaffected their services offering andreduced the awareness of CSA
by rural farmers who need theseawareness as they are the food
hub of the country.		
					
IV.Lack of financial resources:
Most farmers cite this problem asa major challenge to adaptationof CSA practice. The poor stateof farmers’ income leaves themno choice but to continue in theirold practices. Adoption of CSA
increases their cost of production.

Although, the Nigerian government
have tried to make credit affordable
and available to farmers; thesefunds do not get the real farmers.
These farmers are discouraged
and resort to doing their farmbusiness as usual. In addition,
CSA are generally more profitablein the long-term compared toconventional farming. This also
discourages the farmers whowant to see immediate return on
investment.
			
					
V. Poor understanding of
CSA concepts: CSA is clearlyknowledge-intensive and for it tobe effectively implemented, welldesigned, inclusive, and innovativeknowledge management systems
are essential. Limited technicalassistance constitute limiting
factors to the adoption of CSApractices. Most farmers lackneeded assistant to help foster
their interest in CSA and the rightmodel peculiar to their location, theright varieties to use and improveways to carry improved farming.
These discourages most people
from venturing into CSA practice.
Recommendations• Government should incorporate
CSA in their agricultural policies.
Although, most of the national
policies have elements that
support climate smart agriculture.
Policy should be made with
CSA as the main goal. This willencourage and improve adoptionof all Climate Smart Agricultural
practices especially those ones
that were not highly adopted
by farmers in the country.

20 											www.atpsnet.org

Climate feature

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)• Efforts should be made byresearch institution to train
extension staff properly about
all the components of climate
smart agricultural practices.
Extension
staff
shouldinturn disseminate extensively
accurate information on Climate
Smart Agricultural practices
to cover a larger proportionof farmers in the country.
• Government should provide
incentives and enabling policy
environment towards adoptionof good CSA practices. Accessto credit will also enhance thecapacity of farmers in procuring thenecessary climate smart inputs.
• Sensitization campaign andmedia jingles on the truth of climatechange and the need to adopt
climate smart practices towards
reduction of adverse effect ofclimate change and improve foodsecurity should be strengthened.

Climate change is here and notgoing anywhere. Its time Africancountries joined the rest of the worldin the fight for the living against
climate change. Winter is here.

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21National Chapter Column

National Chapter Column

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Africa Science Revival Week: ATPS Eswatini
Chapter
By Professor Musa DubeE

swatini (former Swaziland)
National Chapter (ESNC)
under the auspices ofAfrican Technology Policy Studies
Network(ATPS)
celebrated
Africa Science Week Revival on
26 July 2019. The celebration
was held at the University ofEswatini (UNESWA), Faculty ofAgriculture, Luyengo Campus.
During the celebration, a Seminar
was organized. During the Seminar,
Prof. C. Maphosa, Director of
Institute of Distance Learning
at UNESWA presented on the
Prospects of harnessing Science,
Technology and Innovation to use
in E-Learning. The highlights of
the Seminar included welcomreremarks by Prof. A. M. Manyatsi,
Acting Dean of the Faculty ofAgriculture, Prof. Musa M. A.
Dube, National Coordinator and
the Prof. C. Maphosa as the main
speaker on this special day.

Prof. Musa A Dube

Prof. A. M Manyatsi

In his welcome remarks, Prof.
Manyatsi
commended
ATPS
Network for the initiative to start
National Chapters to captainand coordinate the promotionof Science, Technology andInnovation (STI) in Africa. He
stated that this initiative has
steadily nurtured harnessing of
STI which in turn has
aided
development.
Prof. Manyatsi further
commended the ESNC
for organizing the Seminarand selection of such aprominent Scholar to givea Seminar. He concluded
welcome remarks byfurther appreciating his
association with ATPS
Network since 1992.
Specifically, Prof.Manyatsi
stated that the ATPS
Network has made him
grow; hence, today he is
a Professor.

Following the welcome
remarks, Prof. Musa M. A
Dube, National
Coordinator maderemarks on who is ATPSSDC (ATPS ESNC) andthe purpose for the
Meeting. Prof. Dubefurther stated thatthe major focus of the
Meeting was to continue
to popularise ATPS-SDC
and its endeavour topromote harnessing of
STI for aiding development ingeneral.
Finally, he encouraged delegates(participants) to join ATPS-SDC(ATPS- ESNC).
Prof, Maphosa presented on the
Prospects of harnessing Science,
Technology and Innovation touse in E-Learning. The hi-lights
of his presentation were that: i.
Education is a human right nota privilege, ii. Sustainable goals
1-5 all prioritise the well-being ofpeople for sustainable economic
development; iii. SDG #4 being
the major focus and target of2030 agenda; iv. Focus of theAfrican Union Agenda 2063 and v.
Unpacking of E-Learning using STI.
Details of each the five aspects ofProf. Maphosa can be read in his
power point presentation posted
by ATPS-Network.
He concluded his presentationby acknowledging that there
are challenges in harnessing
Technology
for
E-Learning;22 											www.atpsnet.org

National Chapter Column

National Chapter Column

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

namely: capacity, policy/planning and cost of
infrastructure.
He recommended that models for ICT integrationin education and pre-requisites for effective
implementation of E-Learning in Eswatini should
be exploited. These included: (i) Clear/detailed/implementable policy pronouncements, (ii) Internal
availability in schools amd higher education
institutions (sound partnerships-government andprivate sector), (iii) Development and utilization of
Learning Management Systems and appropriate
applications, (iv) Availability of Computers, (v)Availability of hand held devices; smart phones,
tablets and labtops, (vi) Conversion of learningmaterials into electronics/multi-media formats, use ofProf. C Maphosa

OERs, (vii) Professional development of Teachers, (viii)
Training of students and (ix) involvement of parents.

www.atpsnet.org 											

23Article

National Chapter Column

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Evaluation of some Marine Seaweed as
Food Supplements
By Maha Ahmed Mohamed Abdallah.

National Institute of Oceanography & Fisheries, (NIOF), Marine
Pollution lab Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract
The chemical composition, essential trace elements and minerals of four indigenous seaweeds: brown (Colpomenia
Sinuosa), red (Hypnea musciformis) and green (Codium fragile and Caulerpa racemosa) from Alexandria coast were
investigated. In this study, the protein content varied from 18.5% to 42%. The highest value was found in C. sinuosa.
Carbohydrate contents in the four species varied significantly and the values observed were negatively related withproteins. The four marine seaweeds contained relatively higher amounts of minerals (6538–23045 mg/100g; Na, K,
Ca, Mg) and trace elements (20.57–144.5 mg/100g; Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu), than those reported for land vegetables as wellas to other edible seaweeds. These seaweeds contain (3% - 61% carotenoid) more the quantity of any of the common
vegetables. Brown and red seaweeds could be used as a food supplement to meet the recommended daily intake ofsome ess ential metals to improve the nutritive value in human diet

1. Introduction

Seaweeds are used for human and animal feed, as well as fertilizer, fungicides, herbicides. Phycocolloids (asChlorophyta) are commonly used as food due to high contents of vitamins and minerals, Phaeophyta are typicalsuppliers of alginic acid. Rhodophyta are responsible to produce agar and carragenan (Chapman and Chapman, 1980;
Nisizawa et al., 1987).
The nutritional properties of seaweeds are not completely known yet, and they are usually estimated from their chemicalcomposition alone (Mabeau & Fleurence, 1992). Compared to land plants, the chemical composition of seaweeds has
been poorly investigated and most of the available information only deals with traditional Japanese seaweeds (Nisizawa
et al., 1987; Watanabe & Nisizawa, 1984). The chemical composition of seaweeds varies with species, habitats, maturity
and environmental conditions (Ito & Hori, 1989). Consumption of seaweeds can increase the intake of dietary fiber andlower the occurrence of some chronic diseases (diabetes, obesity, heart diseases, cancers, etc.), which are associatedwith low fiber diets of the Western countries (Southgate, 1990). The different species consumed represent a great
nutritional value as source of minerals, protein, carbohydrates and vitamins (Marinho-Soriano et al., 2006). Becauseof their low fat contents and their proteins and carbohydrates which cannot be entirely digested by human intestinal
enzymes seaweeds contributed few calories to the diet (Lahaye and Kaeffer, 1997).
Asian cultures have traditionally employed marine seaweeds (macroalgae) as a natural source of food and medicines(FAO, 2002). Six million tons of fresh algae are now cultivated per year worldwide, amounting to around 90% of thecommercial demand (FAO, 2002). Consumers in most developed countries are turning to more natural and nutritional
products such as seaweed-based products, many of which have unrivalled healthy properties (Netten et al., 2000).
It is now possible to find out a large variety of products derived from macro and microalgae throughout Egypt and ahuge increase in consumption is expected in the next few years (Fayza et al. 1984, Zakaria, 2002, Abdallah, 2007 and2008). In the context, the chemical composition ( caroteniod, protein and carbohydrate), minerals (Na, K, Ca, Mg and P),
essential trace elements (Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe) of four different seaweeds (Colpomenia Sinuosa, Codium fragile, Caulerpa
racemosa and Hypnea musciformis) from Mediterranean coast of Egypt (Alexandria coast) was investigated. In order toprovide more comprehensive nutrient information about them also to evaluate their use as a potential food ingredientand/or the toxicological point of view.

Keywords: Marine seaweeds; Chemical composition; Essential trace elements; Mineral.

24 											www.atpsnet.org

Article

National Chapter Column

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

2. Material and Methods
2.1. Sample collection and preparation
Four marine seaweeds: brown (Colpomenia Sinuosa), red (Hypenea musciformis) and green (Caulerpa lentillifera andCodium frogile ) were collected bimonthly during 2009 - 2010 from the Abu Qir Bay along the Mediterranean Sea coast in
the city of Alexandria, Egypt (31° 16´ and 31° 21´ N, 30° 5´ and 30° 22´ E.). In laboratory, the seaweeds were cleaned, washedwith distilled water to remove epiphytes and encrusting material and then they were air-dried for three days then dried at
50°C for 48h. The dried samples were pulverized and passed through 1-mm mesh sieve. The milled seaweed samples
were stored in plastic bags at room temperature for further analysis. All determinations were performed in triplicates.
2.2. Analytical measurements
The treated samples of around 1 g were weighed and placed in a Teflon reactor fitted to a stainless steel container. After
addition of 1mL of ultrapure water (Milli-Q,Millipore) and 5mL of concentrated nitric acid (Merck, Supra pure), the reactor
was set to 90 °C for 2 h. Small amount of HClO4 and HNO3 mixture (1:2) was added very slowly and heated to 120°C.
After near dryness, the digested sample was transferred to a volumetric flask and made up to 25 mL with Milli-Q water.
The metals in the extracted samples were analyzed through atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Varian
Techtron- Model 10 plus) following the procedures described by AOAC (1995).Total protein, carbohydrates
and carotenoid contents were measured using 1g dry weight of each algal sample. Total protein content wasestimated spectrophotometrically at 650 nm by the method described by Rauch (1981) and Hartree (1972).
Total carbohydrates content were estimated according to Dubois et al. (1959). The results were expressed as
mg/100g dry weight. All analytical protocols were included in a quality control system, which included analysis ofcertified reference materials, duplicated samples, procedural blanks and international inter laboratory exercises.

Chemicalcomposition

Caulerpa
racemosa

Codium fragile

Hypneamusciformis

Colpomenia
sinuosa

Proteins

18070 – 42011(30040±119.7)30%12650 – 24510(18570±593.0)
18.5%23002 – 48091(35540±125.4)
35.5%

14901 – 33102(42000±910.5)
42%

Carbohydrates

24638 – 48123(36380±117.4)
36.4%

21190 – 34550(27870±66.80)
27.8%35122 – 48819(41970±168.4)
42%5757 – 8123
(6940±118.3)
6.94%

Carotenoid

44 – 69(56±12.52)
56%

50 – 72(61±11.1)61%

1.2 – 4.8
(3±1.85)3%

4.9 – 6.9(5±1.81)5%

Table 1. Chemical composition (range and mean ±SD) of studied seaweeds (mg/100g dryweight) and its %2.3. Statistical Analysis
The results of the analysis are reported here as means were calculated with standard deviations.
The standard deviations of pooled samples (seaweed) refer to the variability within different replicates.

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25Article

National Chapter Column

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Minerals by atomic absorption spectrophotometry.
Mineral content has been shown to vary according to seaweed species, oceanic residence time, geographicalplace of harvest, wave exposure, seasonal, annual, environmental and physiological factors, type of processing
and method of mineralization (Yoshi e et al., 1994). Minerals in the studied seaweeds that determined byatomic absorption spectroscopy (Table 1) showed that these seaweeds contained high amounts of themacrominerals (6538–23,045mg/100 g) and trace elements (20.5 – 144.5 mg/100 g) needed in human nutrition.
Mineral content in seaweeds was higher than the values reported for edible land plants (Indegaard & Minsaas,
1991; Ortega-Calvo et al., 1993). Macromineral contents of typical land vegetables (USDA, 2001), expressedfor direct comparison as Na+K+Ca+Mg in mg/100 g dry weight, are: carrots 3276; onion 190; potato 6015;
tomato 3429. Only the high macromineral value of spinach (9679) was comparable to that of seaweeds (Table2). Most of the seaweeds showed Na/K ratios were below 3.0 in all the seaweeds studied (0.14–2.74), whichis interesting from the point of view of nutrition, since the intake of sodium chloride and diets with a high Na/K
ratio have been related to the incidence of hypertension. For instance, Na/K ratios in olives and sausages
dried beef, cheese and cookies are 43.63, 4.89, 7.81, 17.55 and 7.97 respectively (Ortega-Calvo et al. 1993).

3.2. Essential trace elements
The level of selected essential trace elements (Cu+Zn+Fe+Mn) detected in Hypenea musciformis,
Colpomenia Sinuosa and Caulerpa lentillifera was found higher (144.5, 113.8 and 59.45 mg/100g respectively)
than that in previous reports on edible seaweeds Undaria pinnatifida, Laminaria digitata Porphyra tenera,
Fucus vesiculosus, and Chondrus crispus reported from Spain (Kolb et al., 2004; Rupèrez, 2002), as wellas higher than any of the land vegetables except spinach that showed the highest trace element content(50.7 mg/100 g, Table 2). Meanwhile lower than that measured in Porphyra vietnamensis (146.68 mg/100g)
as well as in Enteromorpha compressa (199 mg/100g) by Subba Rao et al (2007) and Abdallah (2007).
The levels of essential trace elements detected (Table 1) also fit within the ranges observed inprevious reports on seaweeds (Ortega-Calvo et al., 1993). Zn content (0.625–2.685 mg/100g,
Table 1) in marine seaweeds was below the maximum amount allowed in macroalgae for humanconsumption in Japan and France (1.5–10 mg/100 g, respectively; Indegaard and Minsaas,1991).
Algal products would supplement the daily intake of some trace elements for adults: Fe, 10–18 mg; Zn, 15 mg;
Mn, 2.5–5 mg and Cu, 2–3 mg (Indegaard and Minsaas, 1991). Among all the 4 minerals analyzed Fe and Mn
were found to be highest (18.51 – 131.45 mg/100 g) and (1.15 – 9.69 mg/100 g) respectively in all seaweeds.

3.3. Chemical composition
In (Dawczynski et al., 2007). In this study the protein content of the tested species were 30% to C.racemosa, 18.5%
to C. fragile, 35.5% to H. musciformis and 42% to C. sinuosa. Generally, Dawes (1998) reported that, the membersof Rhodophyta are characterized by greater protein content when compared to the Phaeophyta. But this rule isdifferent in the current study where the results proved that the Phaeophyta contains the highest protein than that in
Rhodophyta. In comparison with most species habitually consumed as food, Hypenea musciformis, Colpomenia
Sinuosa and Caulerpa lentillifera contain greater levels of protein. Meanwhile, the mean of protein content (18.5 –42%) recorded in the studied seaweeds was higher than the concentrations some red algae, the protein fraction
can represent between 2.7% and 47.0% (dry weight) of the plant found in higher plants (Norziah and Ching, 2000).
The
proximateproteincontents
of
the
four
seaweedspeciesandsomeediblevegetables show high values than that recorded in the vegetables i.e. (Tomato, Carrots,
Red
spinach,Broccoli
had
1.4%,1.0%,2.8%
and
4.1%
proteincontent
respectively).
Changes in carbohydrate content were observed in the studied seaweeds throughout the study period (Table 3).
The mean carbohydrate content for Hypnea musciformis (41970±168.4 mg/100g dry weight) was
higher than for Caulerpa racemosa (36380±117.4mg/100g dry weight), Codium fragile (27870±66.80
mg/100g dry weight) and Colpomenia sinuosa (6940±118.3 mg/100g dry weight). In this study, inverse
relationships between carbohydrates and proteins were shown, it may correspond to a pattern observed
for several species that the proteins acted inversely (Rotem et al., 1986). Thus, the active period synthesisof carbohydrate is characterized by decrease in protein concentration in seaweed and vice versa.

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Article

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

3.4. Comparison between the different seaweeds
The relative abundance of minerals in Hypnea musciformis (Red seaweed) decrease in order:
Ca>Na>K>Mg, Caulerpa racemosa (Green seaweed) decrease in order: K>Ca>Na>Mg and Colpomenia sinuosa(Brown seaweed) decrease in order: Ca>Na>Mg>K while Codium fragile (Green seaweed) decreased in the order: Na> K>Ca >Mg. Meanwhile, the relative abundance of essential trace elements in all studied seaweeds was decreased in
the order: Fe < Mn < Zn <Cu this consecutive order agreed partially with results obtained from Spain by Rupérez (2002).
The highest levels of Fe and Zn were recorded in H. musciformis and C. sinuosa while highest levels of Ca, Mg and
Na were recorded in H. musciformis and C. racemosa. The levels of trace elements detected in this study are fit
within the ranges observed in previous reports on seaweeds (Mabeau &Fleurence, 1992; Ortega-Calvo et al., 1993;
Rupérez, 2002). Meanwhile, the red seaweed (H. musciformis) reveals the highest contents of carbohydrates andnitrogen, while the highest contents of protein was reveal in brown seaweed (C. sinuosa). This study has shown animportant mineral content in several edible marine seaweeds. Edible green, brown and red seaweeds could be
used as a food supplement to help meet the recommended daily adult intakes of some minerals and trace elements.
Four different kinds of algae are complementary in terms of concentration of essential elements and mineral salts, protein
and carbohydrates so it is difficult to say that one of them better than the other in terms of nutrition. In other word, thepresent study indicates the possibility of H. musciformis, C.sinuosa and C. racemosa to be a potentially good sourceof protein and essential elements and it could be used as a spice in food supplements to improve the nutritive valueof the human diet. More study is necessary to evaluate the nutritional value of these seaweeds as food ingredients.

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27Interview.

Interview

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Innovation in Poultry farming: Arinifu Smart Brooder
Interview with Mr. George Chege
By Nita Karume
What was the motivation behind the inception of Arinifu Smart Brooder?
his solution was made to directly address a problem one of our founders
faced as a chicken farmer. As a university student, he decided to team up
with 2 friends to raise poultry thinking it was an easy task. Little did theyknow, what they had researched on the internet was very different from theactual task at hand. Having spent some uneasy nights, lost quite a numberof chicks within the first few weeks and eventually losing a lot of money, theydecided poultry rearing shouldn’t be that difficult. Being Engineers, theydecided to find a solution to their problem in case they kept more poultry infuture. As fate would have it, rearing poultry while studying would be close
to impossible but this did not deter them from finding a solution. After lots ofresearch from local farmers with lots of experience, international scientificjournals and input from American Industrial designers, the Smart Brooder
was born. It was meant to be a device that was very easy to use and forpeople from all walks of life. To accomplish this, it meant a custom algorithm
would need to be developed which formed the backbone of our program basicallya culmination of all the research done. Remembering the chilly walks to be brooder
at 4am, GSM/SMS had to be incorporated to ensure peace of mind knowing one would be alerted in case of any
faults. With lots of testing and prototyping, we finally have a product each and every poultry farmer needs in this 21stCentury age of precision agriculture.
What are some of the challenges you have faced with reference to the establishment of the tech company?
We have encountered a challenge in lowering the cost of our units to allow reach to more farmers. This can only
be achieved by mass production, which requires finances. We are also struggling with Sales and marketing staff,
meaning the team is stretched doing sales thus slowing our core functions. We have to take time to educate farmers
such technology exists and get them over their fear of unknown technology.
How does the digital smart brooder work?
Our vision is to enhance poultry farmer output by providing access to new, affordable and efficient technologies.
We work with the farmers to understand the challenges they face then tap into technology for solutions. At the endof it, we want them to receive better returns and ultimately better standards oflife. Brooding involves supplying chicks with supplemental heat. During the first weeks of a Chick’s life, heat is more
important than food. The chick seems anatomically complete at hatch, but it’s thermoregulatory, gastro-intestinal
and immune system needs further development/maturation.
The smart brooder is an enviromental
control device, which ensures the conditions in the brooding space
are kept within optimal levels, thus leading to better results.

T

It is composed of a few sensors either 3 or 5 (either 2 or
4 temperature sensors and 1 humidity sensor), whichtake readings throughout the brooding space and relay
the data to a chip which is programmed to determine theage of the chicks and regulates the conditions in the brooding
space accordingly since as chicks age, they feather and theirenvironmental requirements change. Temperature is important forsur vivalof the chicks since they do not have the mechanism to maintain their internal
temperature for
their first few weeks. Humidity is important since it determines the rate of growth of bacteria within the coop. GSM
is used to convey data to the farmer and one can expect a SMS if something goes wrong. We use Sms becauseof its wide network coverage across Africa and it works well with Feature or Smart Phones.

28 											www.atpsnet.org

Interview.

Interview

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)How have you ensured inclusivity in that the device is available to farmers irrespective of the size of theirpoultry farm? In essence, does a poultry farmer require up to a particular number of poultry for them to use
the digital smart brooder?
We work with commercial poultry farmers’ i.e those rearing chicken as a business. We have systems running fromas little as 50 chicks with our largest farm being close 20,000 birds.
What is the current scope of the digital smart brooder (how many counties have you been able to reach)?
We are currently operating in Kenya and hoping to expand the rest of Africa in due course.
Poultry farming in Kenya has numerous challenges, from lack of information on proper management,
inadequate funds to purchase feeds, to lack of access to core markets to sell their stock. What measures
have you put in place to mitigate such issues especially in areas where poultry farming is widely practiced?
We talk to farmers in the field and have a very clear understanding of their biggest issues. We are currently working
on our second innovation to handle some of the issues listed above.
How has KALRO influenced and or endorsed the digital smart brooder innovation as a means to improve
poultry farming in Kenya?
Unfortunately, when we were starting of and tried to engage KARI, we felt like no one was
keen on partnering with us and since then, have not engaged any organization again.
8.Poultry farming represents 30% of the agricultural 25% contribution to the GDP, a %age that is expected
to increase. In your opinion, what are some of the factors that can improve poultry farming in Kenya?
The only way to make poultry farming better and more competitive is by reducing the cost of feeds andensuring the best feeds are available to farmers consistently. This will need a reduction in prices of raw materials
and if farmers are pushed far enough, they will turn to making their own feed as some are already doing.
Poultry farming represents 30% of the agricultural 25% contribution to the GDP, a %age that is expected toincrease. In your opinion, what are some of the factors that can improve poultry farming in Kenya?
The only way to make poultry farming better and more competitive is by reducing the cost of feeds andensuring the best feeds are available to farmers consistently. This will need a reduction in prices of raw materials
and if farmers are pushed far enough, they will turn to making their own feed as some are already doing.
The digital smart brooder is designed to make any brooder’s atmosphere conducive for the growth ofchicks. How does the unpredictable weather pattern affect this?
The brooder conditions should be kept at precise conditions for optimal performance. The Smart Brooder does
this automatically. Therefore, regardless of atmospheric conditions changing outside, the brooder still needs to be
maintained at certain conditions. The only changes are in the cost of heating since during extreme cold months,
the heating cost rises, but in warm months, the cost reduces

www.atpsnet.org 											

29Grants

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Grants received by ATPS during the quarter
Mainstreaming Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative (EOA-I) into the Agricultural
Systems in Africa
Project Duration: 2019-2023
Grantor: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Principal Investigator: Dr Nicholas Ozor
Contact Email: executivedirector@atpsnet.org
Grant Amount: USD 684,310
Development Goal
The EOA-I aims to transform and create sustainable food systems through promoting ecologically sound strategies
and practices among diverse stakeholders in production, processing, marketing and policy making, to safeguard theenvironment, improve livelihoods, alleviate poverty and guarantee food security.
The overall goal of the initiative is to mainstream EOA into national agricultural production systems by 2025 in order toimprove agricultural productivity, food security, access to markets and sustainable development in Africa.

Development of Implementation Index and, Monitoring and Tracking Tools for the Nationally
Determined Contributions (NDCs) in Selected Eight Countries in Africa
Project Duration: 2019
Grantor: PanAfrican Alliance for Climate Justice (PACJA)
Principal Investigator: Dr Nicholas Ozor
Contact Email: executivedirector@atpsnet.org
Grant Amount: USD 43,528
Developmental Goal
This project seeks to enhance the African Civil Society Organizations’ (CSOs’) engagement in the climate governancediscourse at national, regional and continental levels, enabling them to be at the centre-stage in the continent’s
acceleration on the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient, sustainable development through the effective
implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Key Objectives
To develop the NDC Implementation Index:
To develop the Monitoring and Tracking tools to Support Index

30 											www.atpsnet.org

New Publications

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Papers published by ATPS during the quarter
During this quarter, ATPS published the following documents:
Journal
1. Bertha V., B. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Nicholas Ozor, and M. Bolo (2019) Open Innovation and Innovation
Intermediaries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sustainability, 11(2), 392 (1-18); doi: 10.3390/su11020392.
Available online at: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/392/html/
Technopolicy Brief
1. Dr. Julius Mugwagwa, Dr. Geoffrey Banda, Dr. Nicholas Ozor, Dr. Maurice Bolo, Ms. Ruth Oriama (2019) New
Approaches for Funding Research and Innovation in Africa African Technopolicy Brief No. 49
For more information please visit : https://atpsnet.org/technopolicy-briefs/

Research Paper
1. Dr. Julius Mugwagwa, Dr. Geoffrey Banda, Dr. Nicholas Ozor, Dr. Maurice Bolo, Ms. Ruth Oriama New Approaches
for Funding Research and Innovation in Africa ATPS Research Paper No. 30
For more information please visit: https://atpsnet.org/research-papers/

www.atpsnet.org 											

31Opportunities

Opportunities.

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

2nd All Africa Postharvest Congress and Exhibition and Call for abstracts and papers
September 17, 2019 to September 20, 2019

Postharvest Loss Reduction and Agro-processing: Drivers of Agricultural Transformation in Africa
Acknowledging the urgent need to address this global challenge, the University of Nairobi and a consortium ofpartners led by the Rockefeller Foundation, in conjunction with the World Food Preservation Center® LLC (WFPC)
organized the 1st All Africa Postharvest Congress and Exhibition (AAPHCE) from 28th to 31st March 2017, in Nairobi,
Kenya. The Congress, whose theme was ‘Reducing Food Losses and Waste: Sustainable Solutions for Africa’,sought to contribute to the continental and global agenda of reducing postharvest food loss and waste (FLW).
Guidelines for Abstract submission:
The abstract should be written in English language in MS word or rich text format and have a maximum of 300 words
in Times New Roman font size 12. The abstract MUST have the following details:• Concise title (maximum 15 words)• Names of authors, their affiliation and mailing address and the corresponding author contacts• The body of the abstract should contain clear objective(s), methodology, results, discussion and conclusion/
recommendations• Key words
The abstracts MUST be relevant to the congress theme and aligned to one or more of the five conference subthemes.
Priority will be given to papers that demonstrate practical solutions (technologies, practices, strategies) to food loss andwaste reduction.
The abstracts submission and registration can be made on the online platform at www.au.int The abstracts can also
be submitted as attachments to the congress E-mail address: Postharvest2019@africa-union.org with a copy to africa.
postharvestcongress@gmail.com We warmly welcome you to submit your abstracts and register before the deadline.
Publication of Congress Papers
Selected good articles from the Congress to be published in a Special issue of the African Journal of Science,Technology,
Innovation and Development, following the normal peer-review process.
For more information please visit: https://au.int/en/newsevents/20190917/2nd-all-africa-postharvestcongress-and-exhibition

ONE WORLD AWARD 2020: Honoring the Visions and Activities of Persons andOrganizations
Deadline: 30 September 2019

The natural health food producer Rapunzel Naturkost and IFOAM have launched the ‘ONE WORLD AWARD 2020’(OWA) to honor the visions and activities of persons and organizations.
The award recognizes and promotes outstanding achievements within the context of the three areas of sustainability.
It also recognizes people who demonstrate that globalization can indeed be more than the maximization of profits atthe cost of the majority of the people around the world. Special attention in the selection process will be given to real
innovation, role models and role potential that could be up-scaled and “globalized”.
Objectives
To promote a globalization that is not oriented on profit maximization, but on the three pillars of sustainability: ecology,social aspects, economical welfare;To recognize outstanding engagement and achievements in providing creative and highly effective solutions in the areasof environment protection and fair livelihoods;
To encourage more involvement for a loveable, liveable future and for peaceful community building.
Contributions and Achievements
The OWA jury selects five winners from the submitted nominations.
32 											www.atpsnet.org

Opportunities.

Opportunities

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
Eligibility Criteria
Nominations for the international ONE WORLD AWARD can be submitted from any country in the world.
The OWA has no preferences with respect to certain geographical regions.
The nomination procedure is very flexible and open, in order to allow for a wide variety of candidates.
Nominations can be submitted either by individuals or by organizations.
For more information please visit: https://www.one-world-award.com/

DAAD Scholarship Programme for Developing Countries

DAAD Scholarships for Developing Countries have benefited hundreds of African students since inception.
The scholarships are given each year to postgraduate students wishing to study for a master‘s or PhD degree.
DAAD does not sponsor undergraduate studies in Africa. The DAAD scholarships can support
students who want to study in their country (In Country Scholarships) or abroad.
Requirements
Bachelor degree first class honours or second class honours upper division
Age limit: 36 years.
DAAD Scholarships - Master in Germany
Are you an ambitious young professional with a good bachelor’s degree not older than 6 years, or below the ageof 36, with at least two years of professional experience and want to further your career?Mostly taught in English,
the courses are in the fields of Economics, Engineering, Regional Planning, Agriculture, Health, Law and more.
DAAD Scholarship - PhD in Germany
Are you an ambitious young scholar with a master’s degree (completed less than 6 years ago), would like toexperience the German scientific world and earn a PhD from a German university? See the information below.
Special Call for Applications for DAAD Ph.D. Scholarships to Germany 2019/2020 for East Africans & Southern Africans
DAAD is offering Research Grants for Doctoral Candidates and Young Scientists and Academics for theacademic year 2019/20 to pursue a Ph.D. in Germany. The scholarships are open to all fields of research.
DAAD offers eight scholarships to Kenyans and Kenyan residents with an excellent Master’s degree.
Twenty additional scholarships for Kenyan University staff members are jointly offered by DAAD and the Governmentof Kenya (GoK) . This programme is administered by the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST).
Also, in collaboration with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, twenty scholarships are on offer for
staff members of Tanzanian public Universities. This programme is administered by the Tanzania Commission for
Universities (TCU).
There is no age limit, but the Master’s degree must not be older than six years at the time of application.
Please be aware that some additional scholarships are available for residents of Eastern and Southern African countries
holding an excellent Master’s degree.
Application Deadlines: Different for each country.
For more information please visit: https://www.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/en/

www.atpsnet.org 											

33Photo Gallery

Opportunities.

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

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Photo Gallery.

Photo Gallery

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National Chapter Coordinators

National Chapter Coordinators

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

ATPS NATIONAL CHAPTER COORDINATORS
Australia
Mr. David Doepel
Chair, Africa Research Group, Murdoch
University
90 South Street
MurdochWestern Australia 6150
Tel: +61418912287
Email: d.doepel@murdoch.edu.au  
Benin
Dr. Roch L. Mongbo
Senior Lecturer & Researcher
Director of LADyD (Lab for Social
Dynamics and Development Studies)
Universite’ d’Abomey-Calavi,Benin
02 BP 778 Gbe’gamey
Cotonou, Benin
Tel: +229-21360126
Cell : +229-95966446 / 97374797
Email: rmongbo@intnet.bj or
Rochl_mongbo@yahoo.com
Botswana
Dr. John Mothibi
Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering &Technology
University of Botswana
P/Bag 0061
Gaborone, Botswana
Tel: +267 3554348
Fax: +267 3952309
E-mail: mothibij@mopipi.ub.bw
Burkina Faso
Dr. Benoit Kabore
Université de Ouagadougou
01 BP 4487
Ouagadougou 01
Burkina Faso
Tel: 226 812008/380715
Email: benkabor2003@yahoo.fr
Cameroon
Prof. Sylvester Ndeso Atanga
Senior Visiting Lecturer, Epidemology &Public HealthFaculty of Health Sciences
University of Buea
P.O. Box 63
South West Province
Republic of Cameroon

Tel: + 237-653774599/ 243094176
Cell: +237-99841433
Email: silawrence2011@gmail.com orndesoatpscamnet@rocketmail.com
Cote d’Ivore
Prof. Arsène Kouadio,
Associate Professor, University of
Abidjan-Cocody ; Researcher, CIRES
Director, Laboratoire de croissance
Economique
Executive Director, Institut pour leDéveloppement (IPD),
Coordinator, ATPS Côe d’Ivoire,
Coordinator, RIA Côte d’Ivoire,
Fellow Researcher, AERC, Poverty
Economic Policy (PEP),
Cocody, Boulelevard Latrille
08 B.P. 1295 Abidjan 08, Côte d’Ivoire
Tel : +225 22 44 60 99
Fax: +225 22 48 82 84
Mobile : +225 07 98 46 80 /05 95 97 91
E-mail: arsene.k@ipd-ci.org
arsenekk@yahoo.fr
arsenekouadio@hotmail.com
Egypt
Ms. Manal Moustafa Samra
Focal Point Coordinator
45 Noubar Street, Bab El-Louk
8th Floor, Apt 29,Cairo
Egypt
Tel: +20105005284
Email: mmsamra@gmail.com
Ethiopia
Mr. Wondwossen Belete,
Ag. National Coordinator
Director of Intellectual Property Protection
and Technology Transfer,
Ethiopian Industrial Property Organization(EIPO)
Email: wondwossenbel@yahoo.com

GambiaVacantGhana
Dr. Fred Amu-Mensah
Senior Research Scientist
CSIR Water Research Institute
P.O. Box M.32
Accra, Ghana
Tel: +233-24-4748197
Fax: +233 21 77 7170
Email: assabil@aim.com orobeyie@gmail.com
Kenya
Mr. Kenneth Williams Aduda
Senior Research Fellow
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University
P.O. Box 201 - 40601
Bondo, Kenya
Tel: +254 057 - 2501804
Fax: +254 057 - 2523851
Email: adudakenwo@gmail.com
Lesotho
Mr. Denis Sekoja Phakisi
Acting National Coordinator
Manufacturing Manager
Loti Brick
P.O. Box 8008, Maseru 100, Lesotho
Tel: +266 5885 3389
Fax: +266 22310071
Email: ds.phakisi@lycos.com
Liberia
Dr. Wollor Emmanuel Topor
National Coordinator
Acting Dean
College of Science and Technology
University of Liberia
Tel: + 231-6875802
Email: wollortopor@yahoo.com
Malawi
Kingdom  M. Kwapata
Bunda College, P.O. Box 219,
Lilongwe, Malawi
Tel: +265  999195477
E-mail: kwapata@yahoo.com
Mali
Dr. Sidiki Gabriel Dembele
Agrochimie/Agroforesterie et Fertilitédes sols

www.atpsnet.org 											

39National Chapter Coordinators

National Chapter Coordinators

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

ATPS NATIONAL CHAPTER COORDINATORS
Bureau Ouest-Africain d’Appui
Organisational et de Technologies
Appropiées
B.P. E 3730, Bamako, Mali
Tél. : (223) 226 2012
Fax : (223) 226 2504
Cell : (223) 71 3806
Email: sidikigabriel@hotmail.com/
ousmanenia2000@yahoo.fr

Extension
University of Nigeria
Nsukka, Enugu State
Nigeria
Tel: +234 42 771019
Fax: +234 42 771500
Cell: +234 803 700 6968
Email: madukwe@hotmail.com/
madukwemichael@yahoo.com

MoroccoProf. Saïd Boujraf
National Coordinator
Director of the Clinical Neuroscience
Laboratory
Department of Biophysics and Clinical
MRI Methods
Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy,
University of Fez
BP. 1893; Km 2.200, Sidi Hrazem Road,Fez 30000, MoroccoTel: +212 667 780 442
Fax: +212 535 619 321
E-mail: sboujraf@gmail.com

Prof. Femi Olokesusi
Nigerian Institute for Social andEconomic Research (NISER)
P.M.B 5 UI Post Office
Oyo Road, Ojoo, Ibadan, Nigeria
Tel: 234-8023322052/ 8073132917
Fax: +234 2 2413121
Email: femioloke@yahoo.com

MozambiqueEng. Lourino Alberto Chemane
ICT and Planning Advisor
Executive Secretariat, ICT Policy
Commission
Bairro da Coop
Rua Particular Dr. Antonio de Almeida
61 R/C Direito, Maputo
MozambiqueTel: +258 21 309398
Fax: +258 21 302289
Cell : +258 82 3110700
Email: chemane@infopol.gov.mz
Namibia
Surveyor  Uzochukwu Okafor
Surveyor- General
Directorate of Survey and Mapping
Ministry of Land Reform
Tel: +264(0)2965036
Mobile: +264811223311
Email: uzo.okafor@mlr.gov.na
NigeriaProf. Michael C. Madukwe
Professor, Department of Agricultural

RwandaDr. Marie-Christine Gasingirwa,
Director General, Science, Technology
and Research,
Ministry of Education, Rwanda.
Email: cgasingirwa@mineduc.gov.rw
Sierra Leone
Mr. Chris Squire
Head, Dept of Mechanical Engineering
Fourah Bay College
University of Sierra Leone
Mount Auroel
PMB Freetown Sierra Leone
Tel: +232 22 227831
Fax: +232 22 227453
Cell: +232 76 610600
Email: squirechris15@yahoo.com
SenegalDr. Papa Alioune Sarr Ndiaye
ESP BP 15475 DAKAR Fann
SénégalTél : Bureau (221) 864 54 18
Fax : (221) 864 21 43
Domicile (221) 820 23 88
Cellulaire (221) 634 58 88
Email : papaas.ndiaye@ucad.edu.sn
or papealiounen@yahoo.fr

South Africa
Professor Mark Swilling
Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1,
Matieland, 7602, South Africa
Cell: +27(0)83-459 7417
Tel: +27(0)21-881 3196
Fax: +27(0)21 - 881 3294
Email: swilling@sun.ac.za
Sudan
Mrs. Nadia Hassan Sidahmed
Economic Studies Department
Industrial Research & Consultancy
Centre (IRCC) Sudan
Tel: +249 911449106
Email: nadiahsh@yahoo.co.uk
SwazilandProf. Musa Dube
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Agriculture
University of Swaziland
Luyengo Campus
P. O. Luyengo, Swaziland
Email: madube@uniswa.sz
Tanzania
Dr. Hassan Mshinda
Director General
Tanzania Commission for Scienceand Technology
P.O. Box 4302,
Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania.
Email: hmshinda@costech.or.tz
United Kingdom
Mrs. Martha Ada Ugwu
National Coordinator
59 Highgrove Road
Walderslade, Chatham
Kent, ME5 7SF, UK
Tel: +4401634310389/07985476289
Email: Martha.ugwu@yahoo.co.uk
or Martha@ugwu.fsworld.co.uk
UgandaDr. John Okuonzi
National Coordinator
Kyambogo University
Faculty of Engineering, Department ofElectrical and Electronic Engineering,40 											www.atpsnet.org

National Chapter Coordinators

National Chapter Coordinators

African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

ATPS NATIONAL CHAPTER COORDINATORS
P.O. Box 1, Kyambogo, kampala,ugandaTel: +256 782 353034
Email: jokuonzi@kyu.ac.ug or
okuonzijohnie@yahoo.com
United States of America.
Dr. Anthony C Ikeme
National Coordinator
President & CEO
Clintriad Pharma Services
102 Pickering Way, Suite 200
Exton, PA 19341
Tel: 484.753.3405
Cell: 215.380.9920

Fax: 610.384.5455
Email: aikeme@clintriad.com
ZambiaProf. Francis Yamba
Director, Centre for Energy Environment
and Engineering Zambia (CEEEZ) Ltd,
176 Parirenyatwa Road
Suite B. Fairview, P/B E721
Lusaka, Zambia
Tel/Fax: +260 977856167
Email: ceeez2015@gmail.com

Zimbabwe
Mr. Benson Zwizwai
Economics Department, Universityof Zimbabwe
P. O. Box 880 Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 772494902
Fax: +263 4 333345
Cell: +263 912245614
Email: bmutzwizwai@yahoo.com

www.atpsnet.org 											

41African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

ATPS: Building Africa’s Capabilitiesin Science, Technology and Innovation.

ATPS is ranked as the 1st Top Science and Technology ink Tank in
Africa (10th Globaly) according to a 2019 Global Report
42 											www.atpsnet.org