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Africa's bioeconomy leader is currently South Africa, but many other countries are stepping up to the plate. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

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6 Jun 2022
The Malawian government chose sub-national triggering risk transfer to manage localised drought episodes and insured a total of four cluster policies that covered various parts of the nation. Photo: Pixabay

Weather payouts keep Malawian households ticking over

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The Ministry of Agriculture distributed a ton of Bt cotton seeds for a pilot trial, across 10 000 hectares of farmland. Thereafter the use of the genetically modified crop became more common, as it produces a higher yield and is fairly pest resistant. Photo: Pixabay

Kenya pins hopes on Bt seeds to grow cotton production

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The UN’s concept of water security encompasses various needs and conditions. These include: water for drinking, economic activity, ecosystems, governance, financing, and political stability. Water security, therefore, is not just about how much natural water a country has but also how well the resource is managed. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

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Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

27 Jun 2022

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Within the next ten years, AFEX intends to grow beyond Kenya to Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Zambia. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

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FAO counts on 55 implementing partners for community distributions across the country. Photo: ©FAO/Mayak Akuot

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Nestlé East and Southern Africa (ESAR) has created the Nestlé Needs Youth (NNY) Agri Competition where participants stand the chance of winning mentorship opportunities and a cash prize of US$30 000. Photo: Pixabay

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African avocados are growing in European export volume, and is one of the fastest-growing markets beside Latin America. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

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Catherine Kamanu believes that "farming smart" is the way to go, and prioritises working with nature instead of against it. Photo: Supplied/Catherine Kamanu

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Many are moving away from West Africa because they relied on the small-scale fishing industry to survive. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

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The course is a 6-week intense program given in three 2-week sessions at IITA in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by B4A/ILRI hub and World Agroforestry, over the course of a year, with a maximum of 20 participants per course offering. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

Crop scientists invited to have a crack at gene editing

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    The Malawian government chose sub-national triggering risk transfer to manage localised drought episodes and insured a total of four cluster policies that covered various parts of the nation. Photo: Pixabay

    Weather payouts keep Malawian households ticking over

    The UN’s concept of water security encompasses various needs and conditions. These include: water for drinking, economic activity, ecosystems, governance, financing, and political stability. Water security, therefore, is not just about how much natural water a country has but also how well the resource is managed. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Africa’s water security progress a drop in the ocean

    Nestlé East and Southern Africa (ESAR) has created the Nestlé Needs Youth (NNY) Agri Competition where participants stand the chance of winning mentorship opportunities and a cash prize of US$30 000. Photo: Pixabay

    Young agripreneurs have a chance to win big with Nestlé

    Catherine Kamanu believes that "farming smart" is the way to go, and prioritises working with nature instead of against it. Photo: Supplied/Catherine Kamanu

    Kenyan farmer proudly soldiers on, gumboots and all

    Many are moving away from West Africa because they relied on the small-scale fishing industry to survive. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Three factors driving West Africa’s migration crisis

    The full 100% of the Gorongosa-grown coffee's profits are ploughed back into the National Park and those who live in the surrounds. Photo: Gorgonosa Project/Supplied

    How coffee is bringing life back to Mozambican forests

    Nile co-founder Louis de Kock said the start-up is delighted to have Naspers Foundry support its mission to make fresh produce more accessible to people across the African continent. Photo: Supplied/Ventureburn

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    Previous studies have shown that rodents and shrews are two large mammalian orders with widespread distribution and are reservoirs of many viruses. Photo: Pixabay/Supplied

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    Annita Mutoni is a young poultry farmer in Rwanda, and is finding her stride within the industry. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Rwandan poultry farmer sets her sights far beyond chicken coops

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    The Ministry of Agriculture distributed a ton of Bt cotton seeds for a pilot trial, across 10 000 hectares of farmland. Thereafter the use of the genetically modified crop became more common, as it produces a higher yield and is fairly pest resistant. Photo: Pixabay

    Kenya pins hopes on Bt seeds to grow cotton production

    Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

    Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

    Let’s keep our food local, says farmer and agri trainer

    Within the next ten years, AFEX intends to grow beyond Kenya to Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Zambia. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Kenyan farmers take quantum leap with help from AFEX

    FAO counts on 55 implementing partners for community distributions across the country. Photo: ©FAO/Mayak Akuot

    FAO in a race against time to plant in South Sudan

    The course is a 6-week intense program given in three 2-week sessions at IITA in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by B4A/ILRI hub and World Agroforestry, over the course of a year, with a maximum of 20 participants per course offering. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Crop scientists invited to have a crack at gene editing

    Uganda has a high literacy rate of 76.53% and is one of the world's youngest populations, which bodes well for the AYuTe Africa Challenge's success. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

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    World Bank has launched an insurance for Kenyan farmers that starts coverage at KES 50 per month. Photo: Supplied/World Bank

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    Mantombi Madona proudly follows in the footsteps of her father. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    It’s all in your hands, says dynamo farmer and agri trainer

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    The Ministry of Agriculture distributed a ton of Bt cotton seeds for a pilot trial, across 10 000 hectares of farmland. Thereafter the use of the genetically modified crop became more common, as it produces a higher yield and is fairly pest resistant. Photo: Pixabay

    Kenya pins hopes on Bt seeds to grow cotton production

    Within the next ten years, AFEX intends to grow beyond Kenya to Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Zambia. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Kenyan farmers take quantum leap with help from AFEX

    African avocados are growing in European export volume, and is one of the fastest-growing markets beside Latin America. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    East African avocado exports growing despite challenges

    The course is a 6-week intense program given in three 2-week sessions at IITA in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by B4A/ILRI hub and World Agroforestry, over the course of a year, with a maximum of 20 participants per course offering. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Crop scientists invited to have a crack at gene editing

    Governments across East Africa are fighting against the impact of mold in food products. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Uganda fights to eliminate harmful aflatoxins in food

    East Africa's 2022 cereal harvest is in danger as the price of fertiliser has double since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    East Africa’s cereal harvest at risk as fertiliser prices soar

    Ghana's government is working together with AGRA on its SeedSAT initiative to improve the regulation of the country's informal seed sector. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

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    Rain, and lots of it, is needed in Somalia to relieve the famine. Photo: Supplied/FoodforAfrika.com

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    Zimbabwean government is using a new financial incentive to lock more grain producers and entice them to sell to the country's sole grain purchasing board. Photo: Pixabay/Supplied

    Zimbabwean government introduces maize incentive to entice farmers

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    A picture featuring George Chiwedzerero, who left Zimbabwe for South Africa and was not heard from for two decades.

    Missing migrants project helps families find peace

    The general impression of Zanzibar when approached from the mainland is of a long, low island with small ridges along its central north–south axis. Coconut palms and other vegetation cover the land surface. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Here’s how farming transformed Zanzibar’s coastline

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    Cassava is one of the continent's food staples. Here is a history on the root veg and its humble beginnings. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

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    Herbal remedies are commonplace in Uganda; testing these scientifically is a good way to ensure they’re safe and effective. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

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    Researchers believe that Rwanda's soft drink tax can be better used to boost public health by targeting sugar content. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Sugar tax might curb rise in obesity, diabetes in Rwanda

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    In January 2015, a three-day rain displaced nearly quarter of a million people, devastated 64,000 hectares of land, and killed several hundred people in Malawi. Photo: Ashley Cooper/Getty Images

    What African countries got out of COP26

  • Home
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    The Malawian government chose sub-national triggering risk transfer to manage localised drought episodes and insured a total of four cluster policies that covered various parts of the nation. Photo: Pixabay

    Weather payouts keep Malawian households ticking over

    The UN’s concept of water security encompasses various needs and conditions. These include: water for drinking, economic activity, ecosystems, governance, financing, and political stability. Water security, therefore, is not just about how much natural water a country has but also how well the resource is managed. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Africa’s water security progress a drop in the ocean

    Nestlé East and Southern Africa (ESAR) has created the Nestlé Needs Youth (NNY) Agri Competition where participants stand the chance of winning mentorship opportunities and a cash prize of US$30 000. Photo: Pixabay

    Young agripreneurs have a chance to win big with Nestlé

    Catherine Kamanu believes that "farming smart" is the way to go, and prioritises working with nature instead of against it. Photo: Supplied/Catherine Kamanu

    Kenyan farmer proudly soldiers on, gumboots and all

    Many are moving away from West Africa because they relied on the small-scale fishing industry to survive. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Three factors driving West Africa’s migration crisis

    The full 100% of the Gorongosa-grown coffee's profits are ploughed back into the National Park and those who live in the surrounds. Photo: Gorgonosa Project/Supplied

    How coffee is bringing life back to Mozambican forests

    Nile co-founder Louis de Kock said the start-up is delighted to have Naspers Foundry support its mission to make fresh produce more accessible to people across the African continent. Photo: Supplied/Ventureburn

    Naspers Foundry pumps R40 million into fresh produce start-up

    Previous studies have shown that rodents and shrews are two large mammalian orders with widespread distribution and are reservoirs of many viruses. Photo: Pixabay/Supplied

    Scientists find new DNA viruses in rodents in Kenyan agri hubs

    Annita Mutoni is a young poultry farmer in Rwanda, and is finding her stride within the industry. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Rwandan poultry farmer sets her sights far beyond chicken coops

  • Changemakers
    • All
    • Agribusiness
    • Agripreneurs
    • Farmers
    • Innovation
    The Ministry of Agriculture distributed a ton of Bt cotton seeds for a pilot trial, across 10 000 hectares of farmland. Thereafter the use of the genetically modified crop became more common, as it produces a higher yield and is fairly pest resistant. Photo: Pixabay

    Kenya pins hopes on Bt seeds to grow cotton production

    Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

    Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

    Let’s keep our food local, says farmer and agri trainer

    Within the next ten years, AFEX intends to grow beyond Kenya to Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Zambia. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Kenyan farmers take quantum leap with help from AFEX

    FAO counts on 55 implementing partners for community distributions across the country. Photo: ©FAO/Mayak Akuot

    FAO in a race against time to plant in South Sudan

    The course is a 6-week intense program given in three 2-week sessions at IITA in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by B4A/ILRI hub and World Agroforestry, over the course of a year, with a maximum of 20 participants per course offering. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Crop scientists invited to have a crack at gene editing

    Uganda has a high literacy rate of 76.53% and is one of the world's youngest populations, which bodes well for the AYuTe Africa Challenge's success. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Young Ugandans vie for agritech challenge honours

    World Bank has launched an insurance for Kenyan farmers that starts coverage at KES 50 per month. Photo: Supplied/World Bank

    Kenyan farmers embrace new weather insurance product

    Mantombi Madona proudly follows in the footsteps of her father. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    It’s all in your hands, says dynamo farmer and agri trainer

  • Food Security
    • All
    • Crops
    • Food Trends
    • Logistics
    • Markets
    The Ministry of Agriculture distributed a ton of Bt cotton seeds for a pilot trial, across 10 000 hectares of farmland. Thereafter the use of the genetically modified crop became more common, as it produces a higher yield and is fairly pest resistant. Photo: Pixabay

    Kenya pins hopes on Bt seeds to grow cotton production

    Within the next ten years, AFEX intends to grow beyond Kenya to Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Zambia. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Kenyan farmers take quantum leap with help from AFEX

    African avocados are growing in European export volume, and is one of the fastest-growing markets beside Latin America. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    East African avocado exports growing despite challenges

    The course is a 6-week intense program given in three 2-week sessions at IITA in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by B4A/ILRI hub and World Agroforestry, over the course of a year, with a maximum of 20 participants per course offering. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Crop scientists invited to have a crack at gene editing

    Governments across East Africa are fighting against the impact of mold in food products. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    Uganda fights to eliminate harmful aflatoxins in food

    East Africa's 2022 cereal harvest is in danger as the price of fertiliser has double since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    East Africa’s cereal harvest at risk as fertiliser prices soar

    Ghana's government is working together with AGRA on its SeedSAT initiative to improve the regulation of the country's informal seed sector. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

    AGRA launches project to boost Ghana’s seed quality

    Rain, and lots of it, is needed in Somalia to relieve the famine. Photo: Supplied/FoodforAfrika.com

    Drought-stricken Somalia on the brink of catastrophe

    Zimbabwean government is using a new financial incentive to lock more grain producers and entice them to sell to the country's sole grain purchasing board. Photo: Pixabay/Supplied

    Zimbabwean government introduces maize incentive to entice farmers

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Food Health
    • Trends
    A picture featuring George Chiwedzerero, who left Zimbabwe for South Africa and was not heard from for two decades.

    Missing migrants project helps families find peace

    The general impression of Zanzibar when approached from the mainland is of a long, low island with small ridges along its central north–south axis. Coconut palms and other vegetation cover the land surface. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Here’s how farming transformed Zanzibar’s coastline

    Saponins also work against bacteria and fungi. Some bacteria have an external membrane that protects their genetic material. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Southern Africa’s soapy plants can improve hand hygiene

    There are a number of flowering plants that we do not often recognise the holistic health benefits of, such as okra, kalanchoe and periwinkle flowers. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Healing with the help of Africa’s indigenous plants

    Cassava is one of the continent's food staples. Here is a history on the root veg and its humble beginnings. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Cassava, a staple crop that sustains a continent

    Herbal remedies are commonplace in Uganda; testing these scientifically is a good way to ensure they’re safe and effective. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Herbal skin treatments in Uganda get a scientific boost

    Researchers believe that Rwanda's soft drink tax can be better used to boost public health by targeting sugar content. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Sugar tax might curb rise in obesity, diabetes in Rwanda

    Lebanese farmers have shirked using chemicals during the goring process and are realising their produce is healthy regardless. Photo: Supplied/FoodForAfrika.com

    Lebanese potato farmers find that less is more

    In January 2015, a three-day rain displaced nearly quarter of a million people, devastated 64,000 hectares of land, and killed several hundred people in Malawi. Photo: Ashley Cooper/Getty Images

    What African countries got out of COP26

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What is the bioeconomy and how can it help fight climate change

by Lucinda Dordley
6 Jun 2022
in Innovation
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
Africa's bioeconomy leader is currently South Africa, but many other countries are stepping up to the plate. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

Africa's bioeconomy leader currently is South Africa, but many other countries are stepping up to the plate. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

Africa is heating up faster than the global average as a result of climate change, and this will remain a threat to the delicate ecosystems here for decades more to come. This means that Africa has a unique host of problems that require unique and innovative solutions, and therefore we have what is being dubbed as “the African bioeconomy”.

“Bioeconomy is a set of economic activities, an alternative to our present fossil-dependent model, in which renewable biological resources are sustainably produced to replace fossil fuels in various forms of consumption and production, to produce products (goods and services) for final and intermediate consumption,” said Oluwaseun James Oguntuase, a Nigerian researcher and expert on the development of African bioeconomy.

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Oluwaseun James Oguntuase is a Nigerian researcher and expert on the development of African bioeconomy. Photo: Supplied/FoodforAfrika.com

“Productivity in several African countries depend on natural resources, climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and tourism, and climate-sensitive infrastructure such as houses, buildings, municipal services, and transportation networks.”

Reducing the reliance on fossil-based resources

While the notion of bioeconomy originally appeared in the twentieth century, it was not until the twenty-first century that it drew widespread attention from scientists and policymakers as a political-economic concept that advocates the substitution of fossil resources to tackle climate change.

The bioeconomy has also been identified as a way to meet the European Union’s (EU) climate change mitigation goals while also reducing reliance on fossil-based resources. It also holds great promise for addressing the climate-related issues linked with the usage of fossil fuels in the generation of heat, electricity, and transportation fuels.

“Likewise, the use of bioenergy, devising smart strategies and value-chain pathways to lock the chain’s greenhouse gases emissions, have been identified as a potential means of achieving the ambitious Paris climate target,” added Oguntuase. “Beyond climate change mitigation, there is a large potential for synergies between bioeconomy and climate change adaptation. Climate change is affecting all four dimensions of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilisation, and food systems stability, and bioeconomy offers opportunities for the agriculture sector to adapt.”

Stabilising food supplies

He also believes that the bioeconomy will help improve food security and aid human development by creating more efficient systems for agricultural production as this, in turn, will increase the production of more natural and healthy products. Specifically, the adoption of more genetically modified technologies may be a way to offset the detrimental impacts of climate change and stabilise and increase food supplies.

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“Around 50% of harvest losses caused by environmental factors are down to drought, and it is expected that this proportion will continue to rise as a result of climate change,” Oguntuase said. “Drought stress tolerance of crops was a significant trigger for total yield in the last decades and its significance for yield is supposed to even increase in the future as a result of climate change.”

So far, South Africa is recognised as the only thriving bioeconomy on the continent, while countries such as Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Mozambique, Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, Nigeria, Mali, and Tanzania have some bioeconomic activities taking place.

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Also read: ‘Africa is a future tech superpower,’ says Tony Blair

Tags: bioeconomyClimate Changefood securitymitigation
Lucinda Dordley

Lucinda Dordley

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Raj Patel is an award-winning author, film-maker and academic. Photo: New Frame/ANDYMKOSI

Wake-up call: Our food system is broken, U-turn needed

The Malawian government chose sub-national triggering risk transfer to manage localised drought episodes and insured a total of four cluster policies that covered various parts of the nation. Photo: Pixabay
Agri News

Weather payouts keep Malawian households ticking over

by Lucinda Dordley
29 Jun 2022
0

The landlocked country of Malawi experiences regular floods and droughts, placing huge pressure on its economy. To minimise the damage...

Read more
The Ministry of Agriculture distributed a ton of Bt cotton seeds for a pilot trial, across 10 000 hectares of farmland. Thereafter the use of the genetically modified crop became more common, as it produces a higher yield and is fairly pest resistant. Photo: Pixabay

Kenya pins hopes on Bt seeds to grow cotton production

28 Jun 2022
The UN’s concept of water security encompasses various needs and conditions. These include: water for drinking, economic activity, ecosystems, governance, financing, and political stability. Water security, therefore, is not just about how much natural water a country has but also how well the resource is managed. Photo: Supplied/Pixabay

Africa’s water security progress a drop in the ocean

27 Jun 2022
Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

27 Jun 2022

Let’s keep our food local, says farmer and agri trainer

24 Jun 2022

Weather payouts keep Malawian households ticking over

Kenya pins hopes on Bt seeds to grow cotton production

Africa’s water security progress a drop in the ocean

Technology uptake remains low in upper parts of Africa

Let’s keep our food local, says farmer and agri trainer

Kenyan farmers take quantum leap with help from AFEX

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