Policy options of agricultural biotechnology R&D in Sub-Saharan Africa: key issues and aspects

This paper reviews the status of Agricultural Biotechnology in Sub-Saharan Africa. It addresses the potential economic benefits to Sub-Saharan Africa and the effect biotechnology policies may have on growth, production and poverty reduction. The extent to which agricultural biotechnology will compound or mitigate the constraints faced by smallholders/subsistence farmers is also discussed. The status of crop biotechnology research worldwide is reviewed and the influence of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and market concentration on the development and diffusion of biotechnology in Sub-Saharan Africa is analyzed. The paper also explores the potential of public-private partnerships and recommends policy measures and investments that could focus more biotechnology research on the problems of the poor and alleviate some of the concerns about the impacts of biotechnology.Policy Options; Intellectual Property; Biotechnology; Sub-Saharan Africa; Technology Diffusion

A stakeholder approach to investigating public perception and attitudes towards agricultural biotechnology in Ghana

A stakeholder survey was conducted in Ghana to assess the level of public perceptions and acceptance of agricultural biotechnologies. A total of 100 respondents drawn from academia, Non-governmental organizations, business community, government and other stakeholders were interviewed on their views on self-protection attitudes, health and economic benefits, skepticism and optimism about agricultural biotechnologies as well as the level of confidence in existing government regulatory systems to protect society against any negative effects of biotechnological issues. Although half of the sample interviewed did not accept biotechnologies in general and GM foods in particular, there was rather high approval of some specific health and economic benefits. About 80 percent of the sample interviewed lack confidence in existing government regulatory systems probably due to inadequate capacity. Upgrading of the existing regulatory system with adequate capacity to regulate the ethical and moral issues associated with biotechnologies and GM foods was recommendedBiotechnology, Stakeholder, Acceptance, GM Foods

The ecological system of innovation: A new architectural framework for a functional evidence-based platform for science and innovation policy

Models on innovation, for the most part, do not include a comprehensive and end-to-end view. Most innovation policy attention seems to be focused on the capacity to innovate and on input factors such as R&D investment, scientific institutions, human resources and capital. Such inputs frequently serve as proxies for innovativeness and are correlated with intermediate outputs such as patent counts and outcomes such as GDP per capita. While this kind of analysis is generally indicative of innovative behaviour, it is less useful in terms of discriminating causality and what drives successful strategy or public policy interventions. This situation has led to the developing of new frameworks for the innovation system led by National Science and Technology Policy Centres across the globe. These new models of innovation are variously referred to as the National Innovation Ecosystem. There is, however, a fundamental question that needs to be answered: what elements should an innovation policy include, and how should such policies be implemented? This paper attempts to answer this question.Innovation; Delphi Method; Balanced Scorecard; Quadruple Helix Theory; Analytic Hierarchy Process; Ecological System of Innovation, Framework, Systems Dynamics

Ethics of conducting qualitative social science research in the emerging field of nanotechnology

In educational research, qualitative studies have varied meanings. This short paper reviews the conceptual underpinnings of ethics in qualitative social science research and its importance to the emerging field of nanotechnology. The paper is aimed at showing a pathway by which the researcher might tackle ethics in a more effective way to achieve the desired results and whether different ethical values are needed in qualitative social science research of nanotechnology.Ethics, Philosophy, Nanoscale, Humanists, Societal implications

Technology commercialisation and intellectual property rights in Ghana

By an Act of Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, CSIR Act 521 of 1996, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, Ghana’s main R&D Organisation was re-established with a new mandate to conduct market-oriented, demand-driven research and also to commercialise the research results & technologies developed. The CSIR was tasked to recover three-quarters of its annual operating expenses through contract research and services. Over five years of implementation, what are the experiences? This paper looks at the implementation process, the attitude of research scientists towards the change and the impact of the commercialisation process on the socio-economic development of Ghana. The constraint of commercialisation including inadequate intellectual property laws is discussed. The intellectual property rights protection from the perspective of a developing country is also discussed. Intellectual property-related laws cannot remain static in a world where economic development is becoming increasingly technology-based. Intellectual property laws are going to be more stringent and stricter in the days to come, offering more opportunities and challenges.Intellectual Property Protection; Commercialization; Tripps; Ghana