Most countries in Africa now have the fundamentals for economic growth. The African Development Bank (AfDB) Report 2024 projects growth of at least 4.0 percent per year in the medium term.
However, scholars and policymakers believe that diversifying sources of growth would enable the continent to achieve higher growth rates.
A bioeconomy arguably offers additional opportunities for economic diversification and economic growth and enables countries to fully benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA).
Bioeconomy involves the use of scientific knowledge to add social and economic value to biological resources in an environmentally sustainable way.
Africa is endowed with rich biodiversity, including plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms that offer a strong foundation for developing a bioeconomy. This biodiversity also encompasses important indigenous or traditional knowledge, which provides leads for scientific discovery and validation.
Related to the biodiversity discussion is the advent of modern biotechnology, that is, the use of recombinant DNA (rDNA) in pharmaceutical, crop, and livestock production.
Experimental trials of genetically modified (GM) crops with resistance to particular diseases have been successfully conducted in most African countries, including Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda.
All of these trials demonstrated success and high efficacy in pest and disease control as well as tolerance to drought conditions.
Agriculture provides the main feedstock for the bioeconomy. Africa has 60 percent of the world’s arable land, which if sustainably used can provide the much-needed biomass for the bioeconomy.
Countries are eager to increase the share of manufacturing through value addition and agro-processing. In a modern industrialised economy, manufacturing should contribute more than 20 percent of gross domestic product.
This represents an opportunity to advance the bioeconomy in Africa, given that growth in manufacturing is likely to be biobased, taking advantage of the agricultural produce and feedstock.
South Africa became the first African country in 2013 to develop a dedicated bioeconomy strategy, while the East African Community (EAC) is the first regional economic bloc to do so. There is a growing recognition that the development of a bioeconomy in Africa will increase the economic and social value of regionally traded, biologically based goods and services.
Consequently, countries with a vibrant bioeconomy would arguably be the ones to fully participate in and benefit from the ACFTA. Given its distributive nature, a bioeconomy will incentivise micro-, small-, and medium size enterprises and the informal sector, which together make up a large part of the African economy.
Dr Ecuru is the Head of BioInnovate Africa while Dr Osano is the Director of Stockholm Environment Institute, Africa CentreÂ
