ABOUT
The Agricultural Innovation in Africa project (AIA) is funded by a generous grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the purpose of providing support to efforts that contribute to agricultural science and technology policy improvement through Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The Project seeks to engage with policymakers and focus information dissemination on efforts to align science and technology missions and operations with agricultural development goals in the RECs as part of the larger agenda to promote regional economic integration.
The AIA project builds on the findings of the expert report "Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa's Development", compiled by a panel of experts (the High Level African Panel on Modern Biotechnology) from both inside and outside Africa. The panel was established by the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to provide independent advice on biotechnology. The panel's main recommendations include the need for individual countries in central, eastern, western, northern and southern Africa to work together at the regional level to scale up the development of biotechnology.
