USAID-African Partnership in Biotechnology - Nairobi,
October 21-23, 2002
Introduction:
USAID, with help from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), sponsored the USAID-African
Partners in Biotechnology meeting in Nairobi, Kenya at KARI
headquarters. The meeting brought together USAID current and
potential partners from East, West, and Southern Africa working
in all areas of biotechnology. It grew out of USAID’s commitment
to biotechnology, which is rapidly expanding with the addition
of new activities in Africa this year in technology development,
biosafety, and outreach. The meeting helped create awareness
of the many people active in biotechnology in Africa, provide
opportunities for cross-fertilization between global, regional,
and national activities; as well as build a sense of responsibility
towards advancing biotechnology across Africa. It also provided
the opportunity to learn about and comment on USAID’s new
initiatives for agriculture and biotechnology, AICHA and CABIO.
Objectives:
USAID has been engaged in collaborations with African countries
in the area of agricultural biotechnology for more than ten
years. Over the last year, those efforts have expanded
significantly, reflecting a renewed commitment by USAID to
the important role of agriculture in economic development
and increased demand on the part of African partners to build
their capacity to access and make informed decisions about
this new technology. Biotechnology is embedded within
the broader framework of the USAID Initiative
to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA). Specifically, the goal of USAID
support for biotechnology is to enable Africans to harness
to tools of modern biotechnology to increase agricultural
productivity, stabilize agricultural output, and improve the
quality and sustainability of agriculture. This will
be achieved by:
Creating a sub-regional vision for the application of
biotechnology to spur agricultural growth.
Supporting the efforts of leaders and researchers committed
to pursuing integration of biotechnology into an agricultural
strategy.
Targeting opportunities to improve the productivity of
small-holder agriculture.
Forging linkages between technology development, policy,
private sector development, and the media.
Building collaboration and between African leaders and
institutions and the international biotech community, both
public and private.
A broad and long term partnership in biotechnology will be
built upon discussions that lead to a shared vision and collaborative
plan for moving forward toward these objectives. This
meeting follows on the first consultation of African, U.S.
and international partners held in Washington, DC last year,
and upon several assessments in African countries over the
last six months. The purpose of this meeting is to bring
USAID’s partners together to continue the discussions of goals
and approaches, while also moving forward with collaborative
programs. The specific objectives of the meeting are
to:
Further our common vision for harnessing agricultural
biotechnology in Africa.
Examine current approaches that link international partners
in support of sub-regional African leadership and institutions.
Identify gaps in current strategy and areas for adjustment.
Enable partners to leverage complementarities between
national, sub-regional, and global biotech efforts.
Discuss how we will measure our progress, changing priorities
or opportunities, and, ultimately, measure our impact.
The Following is a list of presentations given at the
Nairobi Meeting:
Biofortification
Program - Harnessing Agricultural Technology to Improve
the Health and Nutritional Status of the Poor - Cheryl Jackson
Panel
Discussion on Technology Development - Cassava (Claude
Fauquet), Sub-Regional BioScience Centers (David Taylor),
Environmental Research on Maize (Elie Osir), Banana (W Tushemereirwe):
Jonathan Crouch - Global Theme Leader, Biotechnology, ICRISAT
NARO’S
Banana Biotechnology Project - Novel approaches
to the improvement of banana production in Uganda – the
application of biotechnological methodologies - Tushemerei
