Resource-based industrialisation in Southern Africa: Domestic policies, corporate strategies and regional dynamics

Abstract: This article analyses policies and strategies adopted by Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe in order to develop linkage industries from the mineral sector. Whilst Southern Africa has a strongly integrated regional value chain for equipment and services related to mining, linkage development strategies in the three countries under examination have been formulated within narrow domestic frameworks. The evidence suggests that the success or failure of a resource-based industrialisation approach is country and sector specific, requiring the deployment of different and appropriately tailored policy instruments. Our research uncovered important cross-country variations in terms of opportunities created by specific mineral commodities, ambition and scope of industrial and linkage development strategies, and institutional capabilities to ensure enforcement and coherence with other policies

Multinational firms and the extractive sectors in the 21st century: can they drive development?

Historically, extractive sector MNEs have been seen as an obstacle to sustainable development, because they operated in enclaves with limited local engagement. Import-substitution policies aimed to increase the local benefits of these resources, restricting FDI. Since liberalisation, extractive MNEs have re-engaged with developing countries through looser governance structures with greater potential for linkages. Despite the potential, few host countries have seen meaningful MNE-led development because of weak domestic firms and poor location advantages. New MNEs from emerging economies have not shown a greater propensity to local linkages. Only countries that have continued to invest in location advantages have seen substantial benefits

Oligo-DNA Custom Macroarray for Monitoring Major Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria in the Phyllosphere of Apple Trees

BACKGROUND: To monitor the richness in microbial inhabitants in the phyllosphere of apple trees cultivated under various cultural and environmental conditions, we developed an oligo-DNA macroarray for major pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi and bacteria inhabiting the phyllosphere of apple trees. METHODS AND FINDINGS: First, we isolated culturable fungi and bacteria from apple orchards by an agar-plate culture method, and detected 32 fungal and 34 bacterial species. Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Cladosporium, Rhodotorula, Cystofilobasidium, and Epicoccum genera were predominant among the fungi, and Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium, and Pantoea genera were predominant among the bacteria. Based on the data, we selected 29 major non-pathogenic and 12 phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria as the targets of macroarray. Forty-one species-specific 40-base pair long oligo-DNA sequences were selected from the nucleotide sequences of rDNA-internal transcribed spacer region for fungi and 16S rDNA for bacteria. The oligo-DNAs were fixed on nylon membrane and hybridized with digoxigenin-labeled cRNA probes prepared for each species. All arrays except those for Alternaria, Bacillus, and their related species, were specifically hybridized. The array was sensitive enough to detect 10(3) CFU for Aureobasidium pullulans and Bacillus cereus. Nucleotide sequencing of 100 each of independent fungal rDNA-ITS and bacterial 16S-rDNA sequences from apple tree was in agreement with the macroarray data obtained using the same sample. Finally, we analyzed the richness in the microbial inhabitants in the samples collected from apple trees in four orchards. Major apple pathogens that cause scab, Alternaria blotch, and Marssonina blotch were detected along with several non-phytopathogenic fungal and bacterial inhabitants. CONCLUSIONS: The macroarray technique presented here is a strong tool to monitor the major microbial species and the community structures in the phyllosphere of apple trees and identify key species antagonistic, supportive or co-operative to specific pathogens in the orchard managed under different environmental conditions

The Comprehensive Phytopathogen Genomics Resource: a web-based resource for data-mining plant pathogen genomes

The Comprehensive Phytopathogen Genomics Resource (CPGR) provides a web-based portal for plant pathologists and diagnosticians to view the genome and trancriptome sequence status of 806 bacterial, fungal, oomycete, nematode, viral and viroid plant pathogens. Tools are available to search and analyze annotated genome sequences of 74 bacterial, fungal and oomycete pathogens. Oomycete and fungal genomes are obtained directly from GenBank, whereas bacterial genome sequences are downloaded from the A Systematic Annotation Package (ASAP) database that provides curation of genomes using comparative approaches. Curated lists of bacterial genes relevant to pathogenicity and avirulence are also provided. The Plant Pathogen Transcript Assemblies Database provides annotated assemblies of the transcribed regions of 82 eukaryotic genomes from publicly available single pass Expressed Sequence Tags. Data-mining tools are provided along with tools to create candidate diagnostic markers, an emerging use for genomic sequence data in plant pathology. The Plant Pathogen Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) database is a resource for pathogens that lack genome or transcriptome data sets and contains 131 755 rDNA sequences from GenBank for 17 613 species identified as plant pathogens and related genera

Molecular techniques for pathogen identification and fungus detection in the environment

Many species of fungi can cause disease in plants, animals and humans. Accurate and robust detection and quantification of fungi is essential for diagnosis, modeling and surveillance. Also direct detection of fungi enables a deeper understanding of natural microbial communities, particularly as a great many fungi are difficult or impossible to cultivate. In the last decade, effective amplification platforms, probe development and various quantitative PCR technologies have revolutionized research on fungal detection and identification. Examples of the latest technology in fungal detection and differentiation are discussed here

Quorum Sensing Signaling Molecules Produced by Reference and Emerging Soft-Rot Bacteria (Dickeya and Pectobacterium spp.)

International audienceBACKGROUND: Several small diffusible molecules are involved in bacterial quorum sensing and virulence. The production of autoinducers-1 and -2, quinolone, indole and γ-amino butyrate signaling molecules was investigated in a set of soft-rot bacteria belonging to six Dickeya or Pectobacterium species including recent or emerging potato isolates. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using bacterial biosensors, immunoassay, and chromatographic analysis, we showed that soft-rot bacteria have the common ability to produce transiently during their exponential phase of growth the N-3-oxo-hexanoyl- or the N-3-oxo-octanoyl-l-homoserine lactones and a molecule of the autoinducer-2 family. Dickeya spp. produced in addition the indole-3-acetic acid in tryptophan-rich conditions. All these signaling molecules have been identified for the first time in the novel Dickeya solani species. In contrast, quinolone and γ-amino butyrate signals were not identified and the corresponding synthases are not present in the available genomes of soft-rot bacteria. To determine if the variations of signal production according to growth phase could result from expression modifications of the corresponding synthase gene, the respective mRNA levels were estimated by reverse transcriptase-PCR. While the N-acyl-homoserine lactone production is systematically correlated to the synthase expression, that of the autoinducer-2 follows the expression of an enzyme upstream in the activated methyl cycle and providing its precursor, rather than the expression of its own synthase. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Despite sharing the S-adenosylmethionine precursor, no strong link was detected between the production kinetics or metabolic pathways of autoinducers-1 and -2. In contrast, the signaling pathway of autoinducer-2 seems to be switched off by the indole-3-acetic acid pathway under tryptophan control. It therefore appears that the two genera of soft-rot bacteria have similarities but also differences in the mechanisms of communication via the diffusible molecules. Our results designate autoinducer-1 lactones as the main targets for a global biocontrol of soft-rot bacteria communications, including those of emerging isolates

Development and knowledge intensification in industries upstream of Zambia's copper mining sector

This research, part of the Making the Most of Commodities Programme, focuses on development and knowledge intensification in industries upstream of Zambia’s copper mining sector. It explores the hypothesis that localisation and deepening of upstream linkages are driven by six factors: ownership, sectoral policies, the National System of Innovation, skills’ spillovers, regional capabilities and infrastructure. In particular, the role of ownership in shaping value chain governance and in promoting industrialisation and knowledge-intensification of local industries is analysed in detail. Zambia represents an interesting case-study, with the recent, sizeable entry of China and India in its mining value chain. As China’s investment in Africa attracts increasing interest from academia and Governments, this research on the effect of China’s entry into Zambia’s copper mining industry on the localisation of upstream linkages contributes to this debate from an evidence-based position. The report discusses comprehensively the policy implications of the empirical findings. The report is based on field research undertaken in the Copperbelt, North-Western Province and Lusaka in 2009

Development and Knowledge Intensification in Industries Upstream of Zambia's Copper Mining Sector

This research, part of the Making the Most of Commodities Programme, focuses on development and knowledge intensification in industries upstream of Zambia’s copper mining sector. It explores the hypothesis that localisation and deepening of upstream linkages are driven by six factors: ownership, sectoral policies, the National System of Innovation, skills’ spillovers, regional capabilities and infrastructure. In particular, the role of ownership in shaping value chain governance and in promoting industrialisation and knowledge-intensification of local industries is analysed in detail. Zambia represents an interesting case-study, with the recent, sizeable entry of China and India in its mining value chain. As China’s investment in Africa attracts increasing interest from academia and Governments, this research on the effect of China’s entry into Zambia’s copper mining industry on the localisation of upstream linkages contributes to this debate from an evidence-based position. The report discusses comprehensively the policy implications of the empirical findings. The report is based on field research undertaken in the Copperbelt, North-Western Province and Lusaka in 2009

The dynamics of Zambia's copper value chain

Includes abstract.The past two decades witnessed the emergence of China and India as major investors in African extractive industries. This, together with the commodity price boom, raises new questions on Africa's industrialisation prospects. This thesis investigates the dynamics of industries upstream of a mineral sector, in light of changing investment ownership patterns. My aim is to examine whether the new value chain drivers, China and India, are characterised by distinctive value chain governance patterns and whether this impact on the opportunities and constraints for the localisation and development of a mining supply industry. I also analyse the socio-economic context in which these dynamics are embedded to identify historical trajectories and institutional determinants. Zambia represents an appropriate case-study given the central role of the copper sector in the country's economy and the heterogeneity of the copper industry ownership structure. My findings are based on 77 interviews with European, Canadian, Chinese and South African mining companies, local supply firms, and private and public sector representatives. In addition, archive material was instrumental in contextualising my research questions within post-structural adjustment programme trajectories in the Copperbelt. I adopt a theoretical framework based on the Global Value Chain approach. Additionally, I draw extensively on the international business literature