East Africa could be a Leader in Bioeconomy Innovation
There is great potential, but a lack of funds for the implementation of new technologies as well as a lack of knowhow in agricultural production and bioprocessing inhibit progress.
East Africa is home to vast agricultural lands, rich biodiversity and a young population – factors that could make the region a leader in bioeconomy innovation. To fully realize the potential of the bioeconomy, the region needs to urgently address the lack of infrastructure, financing constraints and weak policies.
Over the past decade, Eastern Africa has demonstrated robust economic growth. It has the strongest economic performance on the continent, with growth exceeding 5% in 2023 and probably also in 2024.
Despite this success, the region still faces huge challenges: while poverty rates have declined, the absolute number of poor people remains high. Economic growth has not translated into equitable opportunities, leaving many young people, particularly in rural areas, without access to stable jobs. This rising youth unemployment is creating huge pressure on job markets and the economy. A significant challenge for the development in the region is also its reliance on primary production in agriculture with limited processing and weak or absent value chains.
The promises of modern bioeconomies
The bioeconomy presents important development opportunities for Eastern Africa. A central feature is that scientific research, knowledge and innovation can be applied not only to the production of food, feed, fibre and fuel but also to produce a wide range of agro-industrial and value-added products.Value addition allows farmers to sell processed or transformed products at higher prices compared to raw commodities.
Another critical element of the bioeconomy is to build value around local bioresources, maximising and using all parts of primary produce and its products. A modern bioeconomy is therefore key to development of biobased growth and job creation based on the renewability of resources, resilience of ecosystems, biowaste circularity, as well as efficiency in biomass production and value-addition.
Bioeconomy Development – An Opportunity for Eastern Africa
Today, more than 65% of the population in Eastern Africa depends on biological resources for food, energy, medicine and over 30% of the region’s GDP is currently directly attributed to agriculture. Countries in the region have a rich but largely unexplored biodiversity and a strong bioresource production base. However, the region has only to a limited degree been able to apply technologies and know-how that could modernise agricultural production, bioprocessing and value addition. The low degree of bioprocessing, using biological systems such as microorganisms, to add value to primary produce and biowaste and produce valuable products, makes it difficult for Eastern Africa to use its bioresources as an engine for economic growth.
Encouragingly enough, rural Eastern Africa offers many opportunities for expansion of biomass value addition. This includes the production of biofuels, novel food ingredients, biopackaging and biocomposite material, that would create new opportunities for value addition and job creation at negligible opportunity cost and for improving degraded or poorly maintained lands.
The region has also increasingly supported stronger universities, research institutions and innovation capabilities, with a growing number of well-trained scientists and entrepreneurs. In addition, countries in the region have embraced or are piloting clusters and platforms to promote agro-industrial development serving as a base for expansion of biobased businesses.
The development of a modern bioeconomy in Eastern Africa has significant potential to support several critical goals, such as:
- Sustainable industrialisation, job creation and green growth, revitalising bioprocessing and biomass value chains, and promoting circular economy production systems through productive and efficient use of biowaste.
- Improved food security through enhanced value chains and processing, promoting a more secure and resilient food supply while contributing to sustainable, healthy, affordable and nutritious food for the growing population.
- Linking smallholder farmers to processing opportunities, value chains and new markets.
- Improved health using the biodiversity to develop cost effective biopharmaceutical products addressing specific health challenges.
- The creation of new biobased products, including biomaterials for construction, bio-inputs for agriculture, enzymes for industry, and biobased feedstocks (e.g. bio-packaging) to substitute products derived from petrochemicals or to satisfy growing demands from consumers for functional foods, special dietary needs and novel health products.
- Creating new forms of clean sustainable modern bioenergy, such as biofuels, for transportation and cooking and electricity generation from biowaste and industrial by-products mitigating climate change and massive use of fuelwood that leads to deforestation.
- Protecting the environment through converting waste, which today threatens ecosystems and freshwater resources, to useful products.
Bioeconomy Initiatives in Eastern Africa
There has been a significant growth in research and development in the region to address bioeconomic opportunities. The most important policy action is the East African Community (EAC) Bioeconomy Strategy approved in 2022. It is largely focusing on how to add value to the bioresources in the region including biowaste. Job creation, linking farmers and bioentrepreneurs to new value chains and market opportunities are also key components of the strategy. Several countries in the region (Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi) are developing their bioeconomy strategies inspired by the Regional Bioeconomy Strategy.
Unleashing the enormous potential of cassava
The State of the Bioeconomy in Eastern Africa: 2024 report, published by SEI together with BioInnovate Africa, includes some case studies demonstrating the potential for the bioeconomy in the region, for example for cassava. The majority of staple food produced in Eastern Africa such as cassava is only minimally processed, while there are many opportunities to add value to them. Cassava, known as a “poor man’s crop” that grows well on marginal lands, is one of the most important staple foods in Eastern Africa. Around 60% of the production is for household consumption and 40% for marketing. Cassava production faces major challenges in the region, such as pests and diseases, lack of quality planting material, poorly functioning seed systems and high post-harvest losses.
There are however many cassava value addition opportunities ranging from food processing to renewable energy and sustainable packaging, that could contribute to economic growth and sustainability in the region. This includes processing of cassava into High-Quality Cassava Flour, which can be used in bakery products, snacks and confectionary. Bioethanol production from cassava can also reduce dependence on fossil fuels with Eastern African countries tapping into the renewable energy market by leveraging cassava fermentation and distillation processes. Cassava by-products such as peels and cake can be processed into high-quality animal feed, improving livestock nutrition and productivity. Biodegradable packaging materials derived from cassava starch also offers an opportunity to reduce environmental pollution and promote sustainability in the packaging industry.
Turning biowaste into energy
Another compelling and economically significant opportunity for driving biobased economic growth in the region lies in transforming the approximately 40 million tons of biowaste generated in the region annually into valuable products. Currently, much of this biowaste is underutilized and often contributes to environmental pollution. By repurposing a portion of this waste, the region could produce bioenergy sources like biogas and bioethanol, as well as biofertilizers and animal feed, unlocking both environmental and economic benefits.
Replacing steel and concrete with mass timber
Another case is the development and use of locally sourced novel and modern biobased building material that can transform Eastern Africa's construction sector. With the region’s population growing and urbanization accelerating, sustainable construction is crucial. Biobased building materials offer a sustainable alternative to traditional construction materials reducing carbon footprints and promoting environmental sustainability.
New products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) and mass plywood panels (MPP), often called mass timber, are thick, compressed layers of wood, creating strong, structural load-bearing elements considered a building material of the future. Mass timber sequesters carbon, unlike concrete which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, and enables a new integrated building technology, revolutionizing the use of timber in construction.
Mass timber and compressed wood panels offer several additional advantages being stronger than steel, lighter and thermally efficient. Domestic mass timber production in Eastern Africa can use rapidly growing species such as bamboo sustainably harvested and processed into engineered wood products like CLT. Governments in the region should incentivize the use of biobased materials through supportive policies and regulation focusing on improving the performance and cost-efficiency of building materials.
Challenges and the way forward
There are key challenges Eastern African countries must address to fully realize the promises of the bioeconomy for their region. These include:
- Poor Infrastructure including a lack of biorefineries, agro-processing facilities, reliable roads, storage and logistics, limits value addition and disconnects smallholder farmers from bio-based value chains.
- Inadequate Skills and Knowledge Gaps. Lack of technical skill on modern bioprocessing, building bio-businesses and building circular bioresource streams
- Weak or Fragmented Policies: Cohesive bioeconomy policies and clear regulations to guide implementation of bioeconomy strategies and to attract investments are lacking and deter private investment and innovation in bio-based industries.
- Financing Constraints: Limited venture capital and few financial incentives, such as tax breaks or subsidies, hinder scaling and market entry of bio-based innovations.
- Potential Resource Allocation and Environmental Conflicts: Overexploitation of natural resources for biomass production can risk land degradation, deforestation, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and worsened food security.
- Poor Market Access and Integration:Bio-based products face market entry barriers due to lack of certifications and standards, while fragmented regional markets hinder value chain development
By taking urgent action to vigorously promote bioeconomy development in Eastern Africa, the region could unlock its potential for sustainable economic growth, job creation, environmental conservation, and social inclusion. Collaboration among stakeholders and a coordinated effort towards a shared vision of a vibrant bioeconomy will then be key to success.
