By Duncan Mboyah
African countries should integrate bioeconomy in their plans to achieve economic development and environmental sustainability.
Eng. Festus Ng’eno, Kenyan Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry said during the launch of the 2024 State of the Bioeconomy in Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.
According to Eng. Ng’eno, the integration of bioeconomy principles into agriculture, industry, and environmental management not only reduces environmental harm but also creates new economic opportunities, supporting employment for youth and women.
“Bioeconomy is capable of transforming bioresources and agricultural waste into useful products for the benefit of the countries’ economies,”he said .
Eng. Ngeno noted that the use of bio-based agricultural inputs such as bio-fertilizers and biopesticides, which reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides helps in boosting soil health and crop yields while reducing pollution and mitigating climate impacts.
He added the adoption of initiatives like agro-biologicals and biobased agricultural inputs, Africa is capable of enhancing food production systems and promoting resilience to climate change.
Eng. Ngeno disclosed that Kenya is currently leveraging agricultural waste for value addition by creating new income streams for farmers and agro-entrepreneurs.
He noted that bio-based products, such as organic fertilizers and bioplastics, are gaining traction in the market as consumers demand more sustainable and responsibly sourced products.
The official observed that the shift to bioeconomy not only secures food systems but also drives innovation, creating lucrative opportunities for Kenyan businesses to participate in the growing global market for sustainable goods and services.
He urged African countries to enhance regional collaboration to harness natural resources responsibly and ethically.
The State of the Bioeconomy in Eastern Africa: 2024 Report, which was developed by the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) urges the regional countries to create funding mechanisms for the entrenchment of bioeconomy.
The report says that the development of bioeconomy in the countries in the region has a large potential to support economic growth and sustainable development.
It, however, notes that the potential will only be achieved through strong leadership from governments, with the provision of appropriate policies, actions and incentives.
The report calls for monitoring and information sharing on bioeconomy development at national and regional level to allow actors across the region to identify progress, challenges, and gaps and weaknesses with regard to bioeconomy development and provide a basis for potential interventions.
The report says that the regional governments need to create common markets for bio-based products to support bio-based economic growth in the region since the region currently lacks clear and coherent standards for novel food products which hampers innovation on such foods.
It says that common standards for bio-based trade in regional markets like standards for fuel blending, biofuel, bio-packaging, and biopesticides are largely lacking in the region.
It calls on regional governments to use the East Africa Bioeconomy Strategy (2022-2032) to integrate circular economy principles with sustainable agriculture and innovative solutions to support environmental conservation, climate action and economic growth.
