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ABSF New Telephone and Fax Lines
LANDLINES:

+254 20 833 0242, +254 20 833 0243.
CELL PHONES:

+254 720 223 244, +254 734 333 283
FAX:

+254 20 833 0241

Africa  Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum

ABSF represents all stakeholders in biotechnology in Africa and currently with a registration of over 1,300 individual members in more than 30 African countries.  Membership is expanding rapidly and ABSF has a target of 45 African countries by end of 2010.

ABSF also represents small and medium sized enterprises in Africa that are actively involved in research, development, testing and commercialization of biotechnology applications as well as national biotechnology forums in various countries on the continent where ABSF has representative country coordinators who profile biotechnology activities and status in their respective countries.

Our Mission

ABSF's Mission is to create an innovative and enabling biotechnology environment in Africa through education, enhanced understanding and awareness creation on all aspects of Biotechnology, Biosafety and Intellectual Property Rights.

Overall Objectives

  • To provide a forum for shairing and exchanging experiences and practices in biotechnology with a view of strengthening its application for increased food security, health improvement, poverty alleviation, industrialization and enviromental conservation in Africa.
  • To improve public understanding of biotechnology through provision of accurate and balanced information to consumers, media and policy makers to ensure that biotechnology is accurately represented at all levels of society.
  • To explore innovative and appropriate biotechnology applications and facilitate their adoption and use in sustainable development and poverty alleviation in Africa.
  • To create capacity for information generation, dissemination and wise use of biotechnology.
  • To facilitate research, development, education and training through capacity building on biotechnology as well as policy and infrastructure development for meeting Africa's needs in biotechnology.

Key Focus Areas


Capacity Building in Biotechnology

ABSF  has come up with an effective, transparent capacity building effort and tools coordinated and developed by stakeholders, including governments, international organizations and other biotech stakeholders that will enable countries in Africa to develop their biotechnology capacity to properly and expediently comply with the requirements under the Cartagena Protocol.  To this end, as the private sector, ABSF conducted country level gap analyses and capacity building needs assessment in order to inform the prioritization of efforts to those areas of greatest need on country by country basis. With biotech getting prominence in Africa and the knowledge gap still significant, it is apparent that intensive capacity building programmes remain key focus in the next one decade if biotech applications have to be internalized and applied in crop and animal production to secure food security and enhance the livelihood situation for millions of households across the continent. Programmes proposed under capacity building include:
  • Biotech Training/Education Programme
  • Capacity Building for the Seed Industry
  • Capacity Building in Biosafety and Biotechnology
  • Capacity Building in Biotechnology Risk Assessment
  • Biosecurity Capacity Building Programme
  • Capacity Building in Intellectual Property Rights
  • Capacity Building in Genetically Modified Crops and Food
  • Capacity Building for National Biotechnology Policy Development
  • Capacity Building for Development of National Biosafety Frameworks
  • Farmer Capacity Building in Tissue Culture Banana Cultivation
  • Capacity Building of Educators
  • Capacity Building for Scientists as Communicators
  • Biotechnology for Secondary Schools Programme
  • Biotechnology Information Network Programme
  • Biotechnology Research Programme
Public Awareness & Participation Programme
ABSF creates biotechnology awareness and participation through Education, Enhanced Understanding and Awareness creation on all aspects of Biotechnology, Biosafety and Intellectual Property Rights. The broad areas of focus include:
  • The Role of Government Institutions in biotech development
  • The Role of the Public and Public Interest Groups
  • The Role of the Media in reporting biotechnology information
  • The Role of Consumer Organizations and groups
  • The Role of Government BioAware Strategy in influencing perceptions of biotechnology
  • The Role of Seeing-Is-Believing Tours in influencing group interests in biotechnology applications
 

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NewsFlash

2nd International Conference On applied biotechnology 2010(ICAB-2010)
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New ABSF books publication series

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Biotech Specialists Wanted

ABSF  with its partners has come up with an effective, transparent capacity building effort and
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