In Africa the opportunities currently offered in the bio-economy are many and must be better utilized than they are at present. Underlining this need is the particular importance and potential of the bio-economy for Africa as well as its direct linkages to key global issues that also have special relevance for Africa. Such issues include the global shift towards eco-friendly practices and sustainable green economies generally, actions to counter on-going environmental damage along with Climate Change, rapidly expanding population growth alongside rapid urbanization with often eroded country-sides, food security challenges, health challenges, the need for clean energy, water, and the potential of the bio-economy itself.
Given these linkages between aspects of the bio-economy and key challenges for most African countries the strengthening of Africa’s bio-economy will simultaneously help leverage a vast range of benefits across a broad spectrum of sectors and issues. This again helps underlines the critical importance of the bio-economy for Africa and the need to improve the context in which it is best nurtured. The facets of the broader bio-economy are many and opportunities for South Africa are especially considerable given its large and diversified economy as well as its strong capacities for supporting R&D with enriching innovative actions.
Among the critically important features that must be nurtured in this multi-facetted context are multi-stakeholder partnerships with collaboration between government and business being of special relevance. As such the emphasis placed on public-private sector collaboration by the Government of National Unity (GNU) in South Africa and emphasised by President Cyril Ramaphosa is therefore of particular importance and must be carried forward in a variety of relevant sectors with the bio-economy being one of the priorities.
Agriculture and food are among the key issues in the bio-economy. Another key sector in the bio-economy, directly linked to food, is health where the many aspects of a developed commercialised bio-sector are perhaps often more obvious. The close relationship between many facets of the bio-economy are also well illustrated by those between food and health given that improved nutritional availability for citizens flows from a stronger agri-sector along with healthier citizens more able to contribute with lower costs for all.
The processing aspects of the downstream bio-economy especially particularly offer multiple benefits. In this context the tremendous success of South African commercial forestry with numerous spin-off deliverables impacting a variety of sectors well illustrates this point given its already impressive achievements, and deserves on-going nurturing as well as duplication in other bio-sectors and especially those in the related broader agricultural sector. Such work as that being done with a fruit tissue bank in the Cape to help improve fruit varieties, well exemplifies the way forward in this regard.
South Africa has long had an especially strong relationship with the European Union (EU), its largest overall economic partner with which it has a Strategic Partnership agreement, and should leverage this partnership to help strengthen its bio-sector given that the EU is a global leader regarding many aspects of the bio-economy. The European bio-economy, with the European Green Deal being a central facet, is actively being promoted by Brussels as a key strategy for improving Europe’s global competitiveness. Cooperation and dialogue with European stakeholders should thus particularly help strengthen various aspects of the South African bio-economy as well as that of its broader region.
Among various aspects of the bio-economy where South Africa has much to gain from the EU are improved usages of digital blockchain management of bio-economic processes and their integration into important value chains helping give added sophistication to the economy along with other tangential positive influences. Improving the important linkages between R&D and the market place in parallel to formats for linking production with markets and standardization as well as quality control and improved phyto-sanitary standards, are all other well-developed aspects of the EU bio-economy which can help upscale that of South Africa if getting greater attention in bilateral cooperation.
The support given by the South African Minister for Agriculture, Minister John Steenhuisen at the recent meeting of G20 Ministers for Agriculture to the Brazilian ”Initiative on the Bio-economy” to better position the bio-economy at the centre of the global economic context, is to be welcomed as is his commitment that South Africa will continue promoting this initiative during its 2025 Presidency of the G20. He also gave particular support to the Brazilian launch of a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, stressing that South Africa will invest in upscaling food production opportunities including agri-processing with accompanying benefits for local communities.
The Initiative thus far focuses on three topics especially important for the African bio-economy. These are (i) science, technology and innovation; (ii) the sustainable use of biodiversity; and (iii) the role of the bio-economy in promoting sustainable development. In taking the initiative forward South Africa could inter alia introduce issues related to improved regulatory as well as legal frameworks, finance, and trade.
Given that South Africa is the only African country in the G20 this all helps Africa claim a long-absent key international leadership role in both agriculture as well as food security and the bio-economy that can help deliver a better tomorrow for all with special relevance for Africa.
The bio-economy is an emerging sector in which South Africa is especially well positioned to be a key continental if not global leader especially for developing economies, and is currently under-playing its potential. As with clean energy South African leadership in promoting the bio-economy has special relevance for its relations with Africa thereby synergising with the renewed importance of Africa for South Africa’s international relations, which International Relations & Co-operation Minister Ronald Lamola has underlined.
The new commitments made by South Africa at the recent G20 Ministers for Agriculture meeting help encourage the accompanying spin-off opportunities involving many different sectors which should also be explored with South African success stories being showcased.
Targeted priority sectors and issues deserve special attention supported by the necessary enabling context including close stakeholder partnerships. In so doing international opportunities such as those offered by the G20 context and especially established relationships with bio-economy leaders such as the EU should be among those utilized by South Africa with special benefits for Africa. Such South African diplomatic leadership should actually have a special emphasis on it having a bridging facilitating role between all nationally and a particularly wide range of international stakeholders.
Dr John Maré is a former South African diplomat now an adviser on international public affairs and diplomacy. John Maré: jhemare@worldonline.co.za
The article was first published on the Financial Mail website “Business Live” on 17 October 2024.
