The Bioscience Innovation Policy Consortium for Eastern Africa (BIPCEA) project is a collaborative effort between the Councils, Commissions and Ministries for Science and Technology (S&T) in Eastern Africa and other regional S&T partner organizations notably the African Technology Policy Studies, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Swedish Environment Institute. BIPCEA project is supported by a three-year grant from Sida financed BioInnovate Program based at ILRI, Nairobi and was launched on the 29th September 2011 at the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) headquarters in Uganda.
BIPCEA will help ensure that STI investments generally, and BioInnovate’s efforts in particular result in tangible products and innovations in partner countries. This will be done by tackling a number of important regional policy challenges affecting bioscience innovations in the region, which include among others, limited access to new, affordable and eco-friendly technologies for crop production and agro-processing; difficulties in information exchange, including sharing of germplasm and its fair and equitable utilization; and few sustainable financing mechanisms for value addition activities and for creation of bio-based business enterprises.
The project will approach these challenges through a participatory and action oriented analysis of the bioscience policy environment to facilitate evidence based decision making, and to provide direction for growth of a bio-economy in Eastern Africa.
