We must use latest technologies to benefit from bioscience

BIOSCIENCE

By Clet Wandui Masiga

Uganda has laid a basic foundation for building a strong bioscience based economy. The bioscience field can generate Uganda more than sh30 trillion annually. This is enough to finance the entire Uganda budget every year. The foundation was firmed up when President Yoweri Museveni appointed Dr Elioda Tumwesigye as the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

One of the key areas of focus in ministry is the bioscience agenda. This sector will, therefore, help ensure the ministry's vision and mission is achieved and contribute to the countries vision 2040.

Bioscience is another name for a life science and may also refer to any science that deals with the functions or problems of living organisms. The field involves a diverse group of industries and activities with a common link that applies knowledge of the way in which plants, animals and humans function.

The sector spans different markets and includes manufacturing, services, and research activities. The field is constantly changing to incorporate the latest research and scientific discoveries in agricultural food, feed, fibre and fuel. Others are agricultural chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, forestry, fisheries and wildlife.

To benefit from this field, we must make use of the latest science, technologies and innovations. Major advancements have taken place on a host of fronts, ranging from high-precision personalised human biomedical applications to widespread biomass-based innovations in agbioscience, bioenergy and industrial biotechnology.

The biosciences today are a key engine of economic growth, and it creates several jobs. This is a trillion field more lucrative than the oil sector. We can use the best innovations in breeding to get the most highly productive crops and livestock and safe food for our food.

Available technologies in agricultural biosciences, especially genetic engineering and the use of right agronomic inputs have increased the production of maize, soya, cotton, pawpaws, rice and potatoes more than 10 times what we produce in Uganda.

In medicines, cheap and highly effective medicines are now being produced much faster using genetic engineering technologies. Examples include growth factors for treating burns and ulcers, human growth hormones for growth defects, insulin for diabetes and other viral diseases.

We now have trees that grow much faster and put on more biomas than conventional breed trees.

In terms of human capacity, we are among the best in the world in the area of biosciences and on the African content we are among the most respected in pour peers. All that we need is continued legislative and financial support from the government to enable us scientists to continue innovating and commercialising our research outputs. Innovations in silk alone can bring us more than sh5 trillion every year. If combined with cotton, this can bring in sh20 trillion and will significantly boost the textile and apparel market.

There are, however, some controversies in regards to biotechnology, especially genetic engineering and now gene editing. We are however focusing on ensuring that the legislators and other policy making organisations get scientific facts to base their decision on.

We have embarked on grassroots organising to build a network of allies to ensure that Uganda does not lag behind adopting bioscience technologies. The fight against innovations are economic and has nothing to do with safety.

People need options to choose from and we should not be held hostage of economic battles to resist bioscience innovations. Innovations have proven benefits and it is time to allow people have access to benefit from bioscience innovations. In adopting to every innovation, there are always innovators, earlier adopters, late majority and laggards.

The writer is the director of the Tropical Institute of Development Innovations

wmasiga@hotmail.com