Science and Productivity. Sustainable Bio economy in East Africa.

East African agriculture is at a crossroads. Persistent food shortages are now being compounded by new threats arising from climate change. But the region also has three major opportunities that can help transform its agriculture to be a force for economic growth.

The launch of Sustainable Bio economy Development in the region will help to foster economic growth.

First, advances in science, technology, and engineering worldwide offer East Africa Community (EAC) new tools needed to promote sustainable agriculture. Second, efforts to create regional markets will provide new incentives for agricultural production and trade. Third, a new generation of EAC leaders is helping the region focus on long-term economic transformation.

The emergence of Africa's Regional Economic Communities (RECs) also provides a unique opportunity to promote innovation in East Africa agriculture in a more systematic and coordinated way.

The launching of the East African Common Market in July 2010 represented a significant milestone in the steady process of deepening region’s economic integration. It is a trend that complements similar efforts in other parts of Africa. It also underscores the determination among African leaders to expand prospects for prosperity by creating space for economic growth and technological innovation.

The East African Community (EAC)-one of the oldest regional integration bodies in the world and has made significant advances on the social, cultural, and political fronts. It has judicial and legislative organs and aspires to create a federated state with a single president in the future.

The region is largely an agricultural economy, with the majority of the population deriving their income from farming. Food security, agricultural development, and economic growth are intertwined.

Improving EAC’S agricultural performance will require deliberate policy efforts to bring higher technical education, especially in universities, to the service of agriculture and the economy.

It is therefore important to focus on how to improve the productivity of agricultural workers, most of whom are women, through technological innovation.