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The arrival of undersea cables along the coasts of Africa over the last decade, combined with increased investment in national fiber backbones, has expedited the development of NRENs across the African continent. According to a World Bank report, there are now more than 15 NRENs operating in Africa and a dozen more in an advanced planning stage. In addition, recent investments have been made by governments and NGOs to use this new infrastructure to help connect researchers around the world to their colleagues in Africa. As part of its International Research Network Connections (IRNC) program, the US National Science Foundation is funding transatlantic bandwidth, targeted training, and pro-active application engagement in support of science collaborations in Africa. Similarly, the European Commission, via GEANT¹s AfricaConnect2 project, is providing support for the development of high-capacity internet networks and services for research and education across Africa. This increased support is helping improve connectivity for existing science collaborations while also enabling new collaborations to take advantage of the growing Research and Education infrastructure. This session will highlight how the global R & E networking community is working together to strengthen and support NRENs and research in Africa. Speakers will include IRNC PIs, representatives from GEANT, and African REN partners (Ubuntunet Alliance, WACREN, ASREN). Speakers will provide infrastructure updates, lessons learned from human capacity building workshops, reports on researcher engagement, and answer questions about current and future efforts. We will also highlight some of the challenges African NRENs and researchers working in Africa face and lead a discussion on how we can work together to begin addressing some of these challenges.
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PlantGENE report on panel discussion: advancing plant biotechnology in Africa
Abstract This report provides an overview of the content and data collected from the “Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities Plant Transformation Research in Africa” panel discussion. Organized by PlantGENE, this event brought together scientists and stakeholders across the globe to examine the complex challenges and emerging opportunities in plant transformation research in laboratories across Africa. The discussion, rooted in insights from a panel of six leading scientists, highlights critical issues including restrictive regulatory environments, prohibitive costs, and the inconsistent availability of essential research materials. Additionally, the pervasive “brain drain” phenomenon, where skilled researchers leave the continent for better opportunities, exacerbates the difficulties faced by African scientists. Despite these challenges, the report also identifies significant advancements, particularly in the growing recognition of African leadership within universities and national agricultural research systems (NARS). These institutions, supported by highly skilled faculty and motivated graduate students, are producing high-quality research that contributes to global scientific knowledge. The panelists emphasized the necessity of creating an environment that encourages African scientists to remain on the continent and address local challenges through innovative research. Strengthening intra-African networks and fostering collaborations with the global scientific community are proposed as essential strategies to achieve this. This report underscores the critical need for substantial investments from both global and African organizations, working with African governments, to support these efforts. Furthermore, it calls for science-based decision-making and fair regulatory frameworks to align with unique opportunities and risks associated with technological advancements in Africa. This paper details the observations of six panelists and analyzes the results of attendee surveys in order to document these challenges and opportunities while advocating for sustained investment and strategic partnerships to build a thriving bioeconomy across Africa.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2210962
- PAR ID:
- 10574955
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Science + Business Media
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant
- Volume:
- 61
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 1054-5476
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 483-492
- Size(s):
- p. 483-492
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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