Marc Nkwame in Arusha, 14th January 2010 @ 11:00, Total Comments: 1, Hits: 734
A WORLD-class agricultural biosciences research facility based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) campus in Nairobi, is now open to scientists and students in Africa's national research institutes and universities.
Tanzania, as well as the other four East African Countries (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi), will be among the beneficiaries on its top priority list.
A statement from ILRI spokesperson Catherine Mgendi, which was made available here, reports that the laboratory facility brings to par Africa's research capability with that of the world's most developed countries.
"This means Africa's scientists can comfortably venture into new realms of science without constraints of inadequate laboratories and without having to incur prohibitive costs or face restrictive regulations when conducting research overseas," says Ms Mgendi in her dispatch to the media yesterday.
The facility's director, Dr Segenet Kelemu, is quoted as saying; "Our aim is in part to support research and build capacity by empowering scientists to lead the coming agricultural revolution from within Africa."
The initiative, named Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (BecA), is a joint project of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
It was conceived in 2004 to create networks of regional hubs of scientific excellence across the continent. BecA is the first hub to become fully-functional, having been developed with a grant of USD21 million from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Its establishment has entailed refurbishing, expanding and equipping laboratories at ILRI to accommodate a wide range of cutting-edge technologies to improve agriculture.
The facility affords Africa's researchers access to the latest equipment and technologies, as well as related scientific support, training and research-related services.
Many scientists have already used BecA's capacities in the crop, livestock and microbial sciences in their ongoing search for solutions to the unique challenges of Africa's development.
"Many of the research findings generated so far have found immediate application in agriculture," says Dr Kelemu, citing research that has for the first time ever enabled genetic characterization of cassava varieties preferred by farmers in the DRC and Madagascar.
Another project found that Uganda holds rich sweet potato biodiversity, which can be used as a resource to increase food security across the continent.
At the Nairobi biosciences facility, scientists can deploy bioinformatics, an indispensable tool for modern biosciences, which involves the use of IT and computer science in the field of molecular biology, genomics and proteomics.
The facility is also equipped with one of Africa's few advanced bio-safety Level III labs, with stringent safety standards for persons working therein, as well as ensuring that the surrounding environment is not in any way affected.
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Comment
Great!!! excellent for Africa,s development.I hope the maintenance over the coming years is factored in. Can I also ask if such facilities are limited to agriculture only or is such available for Human subject research? Are these only limited to East Africa or are they extendable to the West African subregion? Pls carry us along.
Thank you,
Adeyinka Falusi
Director, Inst. for Advance. Med Res. & Training.
College of Medicine,
University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Tel-(234)805-038-2048
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TSN Daily News building, Samora Avenue, Plot No. 7, P.O.Box 9033, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
