A Decade of Bioscience Development in Eastern Africa: The BIO-EARN Programme 1999–2010

The BIO-EARN programme (1999–2010) aimed to empower Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to utilize agricultural, environmental, and industrial biotechnologies for sustainable development. Funded by Sida and coordinated by the Stockholm Environment Institute and later the Inter-University Council for East Africa, the programme focused on human capacity building, infrastructure development, and the creation of an enabling policy environment. Key achievements include the training of 30 PhD and 30 MSc students, the upgrading of 17 laboratories with over SEK 25 million in investment, and the development of stress-tolerant sorghum and disease-resistant root crops. The programme also pioneered biosafety risk assessment and intellectual property management in the region, facilitating the transition of research from laboratories to pilot-scale applications in waste water treatment and agro-processing.

• BIO-EARN significantly expanded human capacity in the region by training 30 PhD students via a "sandwich model" between African and Swedish institutions, as well as over 30 MSc students and more than 1,000 policymakers.
• The programme invested over SEK 25 million to upgrade research infrastructure in 17 eastern African institutions, providing bioanalytical instruments, greenhouses, and improved internet connectivity.
• In agricultural bioscience, the programme developed sorghum lines with increased tolerance to drought, aluminium toxicity, and low phosphorus, which increased yields by approximately 25% compared to local base varieties in Kenya.
• Research on root crops led to the selection of 15 promising sweet potato varieties for trials based on yield, vitamin A content, and resistance to sweet potato virus disease (SPVD).
• The programme developed environmental biotechnology solutions for waste water, including pilot-scale constructed wetlands for slaughterhouse waste in Kampala, Uganda, and tannery waste in Modjo, Ethiopia.
• Industrial biotechnology projects successfully demonstrated the recovery of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from Nile perch processing waste and the production of biogas from sisal waste.
• BIO-EARN acted as a catalyst for regional policy development, supporting the creation of the National Biotechnology Policy and Biosafety Framework in Tanzania and establishing an Intellectual Property Management Committee (IPMC).
• The programme facilitated the commercialization of indigenous malted and fermented beverages (bushera and togwa) from sorghum and millet, reducing production time by up to 35%.
• In Ethiopia, the programme developed pilot-scale processes to utilize enset for industrial starch, fibres, and animal feed to improve rural development.

APA

Forsman, B., Komen, J., & Virgin, I. (2011). A Decade of Bioscience Development in Eastern Africa: The BIO-EARN Programme 1999–2010. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-Forsman-Sida-ADecadeOfBioscienceDevelopmentInEasternAfrica.pdf

Chicago

Forsman, Benita, John Komen, and Ivar Virgin. A Decade of Bioscience Development in Eastern Africa: The BIO-EARN Programme 1999–2010. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2011. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-Forsman-Sida-ADecadeOfBioscienceDevelopmentInEasternAfrica.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Forsman |first1=Benita |last2=Komen |first2=John |last3=Virgin |first3=Ivar |title=A Decade of Bioscience Development in Eastern Africa: The BIO-EARN Programme 1999–2010 |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=May 2011 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-Forsman-Sida-ADecadeOfBioscienceDevelopmentInEasternAfrica.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forsman2011decade, author = {Forsman, Benita and Komen, John and Virgin, Ivar}, title = {{A Decade of Bioscience Development in Eastern Africa: The BIO-EARN Programme 1999–2010}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-Forsman-Sida-ADecadeOfBioscienceDevelopmentInEasternAfrica.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }