From August 21 to 22, 2014, over 100 African leaders from the public and private sector gathered in Addis Ababa to shape the direction of biotechnology in Ethiopian agricultural development. Improving smallholder resilience and strengthening the enabling environment were prime areas of discussion, highlighting key Feed the Future strategies in the country.

While noting existing research gaps, the conference stressed the importance and potential applications of biotechnology in Ethiopian agriculture, realizing it as an important step toward agricultural transformation, and one that should be approached in a deliberate manner with due diligence.

In his keynote speech, Professor Diran Makinde, director of the African Biosafety Network of Expertise in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, stressed the importance of effective, appropriate regulation. Too little can lead to unsafe, illegal practices, while too many can prohibit farmers from access to science and technology that can improve their yields and increase their incomes.

Leaders from India, East Africa, and West Africa shared their experiences and insight into effective implementation of biotechnology and suggested how Ethiopia might be able to adopt these best practices. It was widely acknowledged that biotechnology should be included as part of a larger, comprehensive strategy for climate smart agriculture, in order to produce enough food to feed not just Ethiopia, but a growing world population.

The difference between developing and developed countries’ agricultural productivity is the direct result of differences in the application of science to agriculture, according to the Ethiopian State Minister of Science and Technology. He went on to underline the great progress made by Ethiopia in the area of biotechnology as the country enters a new age of agricultural transformation. In a country where agriculture accounts for 50 percent of GDP and 85 percent of employment (80 percent of those employed are smallholders), biotechnology is proving it can reduce degradation on existing land and improve farmer incomes by increasing yields.

The conference was hosted by USAID's Capacity to Improve Agriculture and Food Security activity as part of their effort to build government capacity to enhance the private sector’s role in Ethiopian agricultural growth and transformation.

Ultimately, leaders saw the conference as an essential step toward elevating the dialog on the challenges and benefits of biotechnology. The conference culminated in a number of recommendations to further the Ethiopian government’s support for biotechnology and improved agricultural productivity. Key among them was a commitment to put in place a functional, biosafety regulatory regime, and to enhance private sector involvement to realize the benefits of commercializing biotechnology.

Related Resources

USAID Ethiopia Agriculture and Food Security

USAID Ethiopia Feed the Future

USAID Ethiopia