Regional initiatives to promote biosciences innovation:

The Bio-Innovate Program overview

Seyoum Leta

Bio-innovate Regional Experts Workshop on Industrial Effluents Management in East Africa

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 19-20 May 2014

The Bio-Innovate ProgramA Regional Initiative to Promote biosciences

innovations in Eastern Africa

Established in 2010 to catalyze and support multidisciplinary biosciences and product oriented innovation activities in the eastern Africa

To strengthen biosciences innovations for stimulating adaptability of small scale farming systems to climate changeEnhance crop, feed and biofuel productivity and provide farmers with more agribusiness opportunitiesAddress environmental pollution and climate change threats by creating and up-scaling innovative technologies with a view of creating more productive and sustainable agro-process industriesPolling expertise through regional innovation network, enabling policy analysis on cross cutting issues

WHY

• Need for innovation systems approach engaging new and existing actors in and outside the region through a new innovation and policy platform for boosting eastern Africa development

• Need for integrated approach in addressing development challenges that require collective regional action to maximize synergies and impact;• Agricultural productivity constraints, market opportunities,

environmental problems such as climate change are regional in nature and require regional convergence and joint efforts;

• sharing of scarce R&D infrastructure and key competences to avoid duplication and harness available resources

• Creating mechanism for bringing new knowledge and technologies to a broad set of institutions and can thus serve as a dynamic and effective means for developing regional public goods and new products

Vision

Vision To develop into a Program of excellence for

“BIORESOURCES INNOVATION FUND” and think-tank for Science, Technology and Innovation that contributes to sustainable and integrated utilization of bio-resources for economic development of Eastern Africa

Bio-Innovate is focusing on delivering new products through bioscience innovation systems involving a broad sector of actors, including scientists, the private sector, NGOs and other practitioners

BurundiEthiopiaKenyaRwanda TanzaniaUganda

Proof of concept Product development Delivery systems

Universities, R4DInstitutions

Universities and R4D institutions, Private sector,

R4D systemsPrivate sector, policy makers, market systems

Product, process, services conceptProduct incubation

• Field testing• System/process

establishment• Protocols, tools

Technological innovationTesting /evaluationOptimization /scale-up/production

MarketingCommercializationPut to end users

Early feasibility evaluation

• STI policies• Germplasm exchange/

Genetic resource policies• IP framework

Regulatory approvals• Testing and technology development,

bio-pesticide registration,• Product safety and quality• Technology transfer and licensing

ACTORS

POLICYand

Regulation

Bio-Innovate Projects Product development along the innovation pathway/value chains

Currently, the program comprises of 9 innovation and policy consortia projects and 57 partnering and collaborating institutions

Program is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, 2010 – 2014

Complimentary funds from private sector

Collaborators and Partners

Business Not-as-Usual

• Emphasis on product development and generation of new knowledge

• Partnership approach to deliver innovations to the end users.

• Regional nature of the Program to allow for:

– sharing available resources and exchange of information and technologies across the region

– complementarity and synergies and avoid duplication

– wider impact of innovations • Program is also addressing policy

issues• RBM approach in Program and project

implementation to ensure that focus is on results and outcomes. M&E adopted to reflect RBM approach.

Proj

ect 3

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Project 2. Cassava, Potato and Sweet Potato

Project 1. Sorghum and Millet

Project 4. Bio-energy and mushroom production from agro-industrial wastes

Project 5. Waste treatment and production of biogas and bio-fertilizers

Project 6. Sorghum and Millet value addition

Project 7. Bio-enhanced seeds

Project 8. Industrial enzymes application

Project 9. Bio-sciences innovation policy

1. Crop Productivity and Resilience to Climate Change

2. Agro-industrial Waste and

Wastewater Treatment and Value Addition

3. Innovation Incubation and Promotion of

Targeted value chains

4. Bio-resources Innovation Policy and Sustainability

Analysis

Bio-Innovate Thematic Focus

Agro-industrial Waste and wastewater Management and Value Addition

• Management of wastewaters are becoming a serious challenge in the Eastern Africa with a growing trend in industrial investment and increasing number of agro-process industries

Only 10% of industry in the region treat generated waste to any degree

wastewater treatment and management in the region is greatly limited by lack of efficient treatment technologies, critical trained human resources, and lack of investment in wastewater management research

As industrial wastewaters are heavily loaded with polluting substances, conventional wastewater treatment technologies do not remove substantial amounts of pollutants contained in industrial wastewaters.

In addition to being expensive, these traditional methods often do not meet national wastewater discharge standards to protect the human population at risk, and prevent environmental degradation.

• Need for adaptable technologies to manage and add value to agro-industrial waste and wastewater

Innovative wastewater treatment solutions

• The research team supported by the Bio-Innovate Program has now come up with the innovative system for treating wastewater through integration of technologies for producing biogas and biofertlizers using anaerobic-aerobic bio-reactors, and clean final effluent using constructed wetlands

• The development is the outcome of more than ten years of research and innovation activities by a consortium of researchers drawn from the University of Dar es Salam (Tanzania), Makere University (Uganda) and Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia)

• These activities were supported by SIDA through the Bio-EARN Program in the research and product development phase (2006-2009) followed by the Bio-Innovate Program in the innovation pilot testing and demonstration stages ((2010-2014), in collaboration with the private sector partners in the Eastern Africa

• The solution has been piloted in pilot scale at private industry premises in the three Eastern African Countries (Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania) and is proven to work

• detailed techno-economic feasibility analysis and business development conducted on these technologies have also shown that these innovative solutions are technically feasible for large scale roll-out in the region

Integrated Waste Management and Value Addition – Slaughterhouse

Slaughterhouse waste

Anaerobic digester Aerobic digester

Biogas Artificial wetlands

Integrated Waste Management and Value Addition – Banana Wine Factory

Integrated Pilot system installed at Modjo Tannery

Future direction of Bio-Innovate

• Up-scaling and commercialization of promising innovations from the current thematic area consortia projects

• Widen the scope of the Bio-Innovate focus areas with focus on delivery of innovations to end users involving private sector partners

• Integrate technology delivery systems with studies on cross cutting issues

Concluding remark

Innovation is Key for Knowledge-based economic growth, improve livelihood and sustainable development

Africa has a competitive advantage in Harnessing Innovation for boosting the growth of Knowledge-based Bio-Economy

“If all actors in the NIS can play their role meaningfully, Africa will soon become part of the emerging economies”

THANK YOU

Contact details: Bio-Innovate Programwww.bioinnovate-africa.org

Email: S.Leta@cgiar.org