Presented by Aggrey Ambali at the First Bio-Innovate Regional Scientific Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25-27 February 2013

1. Science, Technology and Innovation
Strategy for Africa 2024
Aggrey Ambali
AU/NEPAD Science Technology and Innovation Hub (NSTIH)

2. Presentation Outline
• Review of the CPA
• Strategic directions of the STI strategy
• NSTIH Focus on Agriculture
• Key priority programmatic areas
• Expected results

3. CPA
• In 2005 the Africa’s Science and Technology
Consolidated Plan of Action (CPA) was
adopted as a common framework for the
implementation of the decisions of the African
Union Assembly of Heads of State and
Government on science, technology and
innovation (STI)

4. Why Review
• There was provision for the CPA to be
reviewed after five years of implementation,
in order to focus on long-term sources of
economic growth with a view to enable Africa
to meet the challenges of the 21st century

5. Vision
• A competitive, socio-economically developed
and integrated Africa based on a robust STI
foundation.
• The vision will be achieved through three
strategic directions:
– build better infrastructure,
– enhance technical competence,
– enhance entrepreneurship

6. Build better Infrastructure
• Result:
– Increased African leadership and participation in
infrastructure design and development
• Targets:
– Increased capacity for infrastructure design and
development
– Increased % of national and regional labour and
materials in all developmental infrastructure

7. Enhance technical competence
• Result:
– Increased human and institutional capacity for STI
• Targets:
– Increased STI research output at national and
regional levels
– Increased Human Capacity for STI
– Research-intensive Universities and other
specialized research centres established

8. Stimulate Entrepreneurship
• Results:
– Greater availability of products and services from STI
that contribute to the improvement of the lives of
African people
• Targets:
– Increased number of added value products & services
to market
– Effective innovation and technology transfer support
programs
– Emergence and commercialization of several leap-frog
technologies

9. Enabling environment for STI
• Result:
– Member States & RECs have policies and
programmes that encourage STI development
– Member States & RECs policy and programme
development is informed by STI–generated
evidence
– Countries have Innovation Funds

10. Focus of NSTIH in Agriculture
• Support member states and RECs to develop
systems of innovation within agriculture
– Anchoring agricultural research and innovation
within
• Existing CAADP compacts and investment plans
• Policy priorities within the STI sector (CPA)
• Policy priorities in the Agricultural sector (CAADP).

11. NSTIH programmes for supporting
research and innovation in agriculture
Four key programmatic areas:
1. Advocacy for Pro-STI investment policies
2. Promotion of policy harmonization and
regulation
3. Stimulating entrepreneurship
4. Supporting the development and
implementation of regional agricultural research
networks

12. Advocacy for Pro-STI investment
policies
Aim:
• Support RECs and Member States (MS) create the context, legal
frameworks and supportive infrastructure to incentivize investment
in research and entrepreneurship
• Support RECs and MS to develop Regional and National Agricultural
Research and Innovation Investment Plans
Activities
1. Convene multi-stakeholder/ inter-ministerial platforms at regional
level aimed at aligning agricultural research and STI policy
priorities.
2. Supporting member states and RECs to articulate development
plans for agricultural research within the CAADP framework
3. Developing and monitoring indicators for measuring progress in
the implementation of the national and regional Agricultural R&D
investment plans

13. Promotion of policy harmonization
and regulation
AIM
• Supporting member states and RECs to build functional
regulatory systems for sustainable and safe application of
agricultural biotechnology
Activities
1. Empowering African regulators with science-based
biosafety information
2. Training and education
3. Technical assistance
4. Provide other relevant biosafety capacity building
programs

14. Stimulating entrepreneurship
AIM
• Facilitate the engagement of the private sector in African Agricultural
research and innovation systems
• Facilitate the movement of agricultural research products to the
market
Activities
1. Within the CAADP and CPA frameworks, convene Public and Private
Sector Platforms on Agricultural Science, Technology and Innovation
2. Support creation and expansion of agricultural research clusters by
linking private sector to the existing regional networks of centers of
excellence.
3. Support the establishment of technology transfer and
commercialization programmes in agricultural research institutions
and universities in partnership with existing initiatives such as
BioInnovate

15. Supporting regional agricultural
research networks
AIM
• Enabling African countries to harness biological applications in
agriculture for food and nutrition security through the
coordination of African Biosciences Initiative (ABI)
Activities
1. Coordination and supervision of the networks while ensuring
independent network management structures at hub and node
hosting institutions for sustainability
2. Provide policy guidelines and facilitate the alignment of the
network programmes to the CAADP priorities
3. Monitor and evaluate the activities of the networks and their
contribution to the achievement of continental targets in
Agriculture and food security

16. Expected results
1. National and regional agricultural science, technology and
innovation priorities clearly articulated within the CAADP
investment plans
2. Agricultural research actions at national and regional level
properly coordinated and anchored within priorities set in
the investment plans
3. A monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment system for
the shared impact of agricultural research on 6%
productivity growth implemented
4. Functional regulatory systems at national and regional levels
5. Strengthened linkages between public, research and private
sectors
6. Increase in the number of agricultural research products
reaching the market

17. Thank you!