Seeds of policy change : Mozambican academics, researchers and managers visit icipe
Last week at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) Duduville Campus, a delegation of scientists and researchers from Mozambique came for a three-day visit to learn and observe how science, entrepreneurship and policy intersect to turn research into practical agricultural solutions.
Through a 2021 agreement, the Government of Mozambique, with support from the World Bank, committed USD 6 million to the icipe-managed Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology – Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (PASET-Rsif). The investment is fuelling 40 PhD scholarships and 14 homegrown research and innovation projects.
Representatives from five leading institutions — the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Manica (ISPM), Higher Polytechnic Institute of Gaza (ISPG), University Púnguè (UNIPUNGUE), Mozambique Agricultural Research Institute (IIAM), and University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) —under the PASET-Rsif Improvement for Skills Development in Mozambique (MozSkills) Project came to seek ideas that could shape the future of Mozambique’s agri-innovation policy. The visit involved a series of presentations and lab visits.
Insights from icipe
In his opening remarks, Dr Julius Ecuru, Manager of the Rsif Regional Coordination Unit at icipe, said the visit underscored an important principle: innovation thrives where institutions create policies that support innovation, partnerships, and long-term investment in science. An idea that resonated deeply with the visiting team, many of whom are working to strengthen their own universities’ agri-innovation ecosystem back home.
Dr Ecuru who took the visitors through icipe’s journey and PASET-Rsif and BioInnovate Africa models also emphasized the importance of highly skilled workforce in Africa capable of driving innovation and business in the continent.
Dr Girma Hailu, Research Scientist and icipe’s Uganda Country Head, introduced the team to the institution’s innovation scaling and business acceleration approaches.
At the icipe’s Arthropod Pathology Unit, Dr Komivi Senyo Akutse, Scientist and Biopesticide Specialist, shared key processes and lessons on commercialising biopesticides.
Dr Shepard Ndlela, Scientist and Integrated Pest Management Specialist at icipe, provided insights into Integrated Pest Management strategies during the lab visit.
Dr Dennis Beesigamukama, Postdoctoral Fellow in Insect Frass Fertilizers and Soil Health under the Environmental Health Theme, guided the group through the Insects for Food and Feed (INSEFF) project and displayed a mini-exhibition demonstrating how insects can be transformed into food, feed, and organic fertilizer.
On her part, Dr Everlyn Nguku, icipe’s Head of Capacity Building, discussed the training programmes and partnerships that strengthen scientific skills and capacity.
Shira Mukiibi, Business Development Manager for BioInnovate Africa shared experiences on university-industry partnerships and technology commercialisation before leading a tour of the Bio-Venture Hub.
Finally, Ms Faith Amatika who is a senior legal officer at icipe, took the visitors through lessons on intellectual property (IP) management — a key aspect of translating research into marketable products.
Insights from the Mozambican delegation
Prof Lubacha Zilhao, Director of the Office of Evaluation and Quality at the University Púnguè (UNIPUNGUE) and coordinator of the MozSkills project at the institution, noted that UNIPUNGUE would use the lessons from icipe’s approach to technology transfer and entrepreneurship to influence institutional and regional policies that sustain innovation and collaboration.
“The best way for the university to influence institutional and regional policies is by demonstrating in practice what is possible with the diversity of ecosystems around us. These results can then be shared with funders, government, and industry to advocate for policies that benefit all stakeholders and, ultimately, the community,” she said adding that the university has tools and knowledge so the most important thing is to produce institutional policies which would benefit the whole country. On what motivated her most during the visit was “learning various ways to use insects for our own benefit – as fertilizers, oils, food fortifiers, etc.”
Dr Arnaldo Uetela, a lecturer at the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Manica (ISPM) and MozSkills project coordinator at the institution, shared that after this visit, the institution would improve its selection criteria for incubatees. He explained, “We will not only go for creative arts companies as we have done in the past but also focus to science innovators. We are also working on our IP policy to promote our technological innovations.”
He added that Insects for Food and Feed (INSEFF) project particularly inspired him and would be the next project for ISPM incubation centre since they already have a lot of poultry farmers who struggle to get chicken feeds which is very expensive. “We are going to focus on insects as chicken feed.”
Prof Custudios Ramos Paulo Tacarindua, Director of the Research Centre at the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Gaza (ISPG), said, “We already have research and incubation centre. After this visit, we are going to strengthen how we integrate research and innovation. We are going to continue with training in the communities so that they start their own businesses.’’
He added that at ISPG, they have policies for research and incubation but do not have for innovation but is being developed and is positive that it would be approved this year.
On what stood out for him about the visit were the labs where he observed that research on insects and production of biopesticides. “When we go back to ISPG, we will try to work towards producing biopesticides.’’
Prof Carlos Joao Quembo, a veterinary researcher at the Mozambique Agricultural Research Institute (IIAM), also shared his reflections: “We gained a lot of experience from icipe starting from the labs and the products being developed and the way they are packaged. We also learnt that collaboration with the private sector is very important.’’
As research institution, we would like to balance pure research and applied to strengthen our innovation capacity and links with the private sector, including farmers’ associations,” he stated adding that they are in the process of drafting the IP policy and the visit was timely since they were taken through the process of how to develop the same. He lauded how icipe has opened its doors to show them how to convert research into marketable value-added products.
Building enabling environments for agri-innovation
This learning visit highlighted the need for sustainable and supportive policies and institutional frameworks that ensure long-term impact of research and innovation in research and academic organisations. By observing icipe’s models of innovation and the ecosystem that supports it, the visiting scientists and researchers from Mozambique are taking home practical lessons to strengthen their own innovation systems — paving the way for a stronger, innovation-driven future economy of Mozambique.