Science, Technology, and Public Policy

"African leaders would like to escape the colonial trap of being viewed simply as raw material exporters. But their efforts to add value to the materials continue to be frustrated by existing EU policies."

Cell phone use has grown faster in Africa than in any other region of the world since 2003....Of course, South Africa—the most developed nation—still has the highest penetration, but across Africa, countries have leapfrogged technology, bringing innovation and connectivity even to remote parts of the continent, opening up mobile banking and changing the way business is done.

"Mwapachu will be remembered as a true entrepreneur with a passion for creating new institutions that improve the lives of the majority of people. He operationalised the EAC Customs Union, led negotiations for the EAC Common Market that came into force in 2010 and laid the groundwork for the forthcoming EAC Monetary Union. He also oversaw the admission of Rwanda and Burundi into the EAC."

"African countries need new constitutional orders to cope with modern economic challenges, Calestous Juma said at a recent lecture....A major challenge is based in the constitutions and laws left behind for the newly liberated countries. 'What was being negotiated as independence was really an exercise in constitutional continuity from the colonial period through independence,' Juma said....While there is enormous pressure on African countries to focus on economic programs, they are unable to because the governmental framework left behind did not integrate the economic role of the colonizer into the new role of president."

"Biotechnology offers a wide range of economic growth opportunities for Africa. But as “Freedom to Innovate”, a biotechnology report on Africa’s Development  shows, the continent needs to locate biotechnology policy in the context of wider economic strategies. Technological development goes hand in hand with overall economic growth and not as an isolated activity."

"This introductory essay explains how this new technology is being driven by the actors (multinational corporations), markets (large global markets) and rules (intellectual property) of globalisation."

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been touted as the tide that would raise all development ships.

This is the first book to bridge the gap between the "naysayers" and "cheerleaders", and to provide a penetrating examination of the realities, complexities, benefits and pitfalls of GM adoption in developing countries that are desperately fighting poverty while trying to stay afloat in the hyper-competitive global economy.

"Investing in agricultural technology increasingly turns up these days on lists of the top ten practical actions the rich world could take to contribute to reducing global poverty...."