network of research and training centres and programmes
Issue 21: November-December 2002
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UNU Update | |
| The newsletter of United Nations
University and its network of research and training centres and programmes |
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Issue 21: November-December 2002 |
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No substitute for homegrown Africa must discard the notion that imported technology can replace homegrown scientific expertise, according to John Mugabe, executive secretary of the African Science and Technology Commission. Delivering the annual lecture at UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU/INRA), Dr. Mugabe said that the lack of indigenous skill in science and technology to convert Africa's natural resources into more valuable products carried a high social cost. Without science Africa could not benefit from the new generation of biotechnologies. "There is nothing inherent in biotechnology that is going to make a difference for Africa," he said. "It depends on how the technology is harnessed and applied to food security problems." He proposed that
the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and UN University work
together to build the scientific, political and consumer constituencies
that will stimulate
debate on research and development in biotechnology. |
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Copyright © 2002 United Nations University. All rights reserved. |
