BUILDING BOTSWANA AGRICULTURAL BIOECONOMY PLATFORM
A National Strategy for Transforming Agriculture into a High-Value Bio-Based Economy 1. Introduction The global economy is increasingly transitioning toward bio-based systems , where biological resources such as plants, agricultural residues, microorganisms, and natural ecosystems are used to produce food, energy, medicines, industrial materials, and high-value biochemical products. This transformation has given rise to what is now widely known as the bioeconomy —an economic system that utilizes renewable biological resources to generate sustainable products, technologies, and services. For Botswana, the development of an Agricultural Bioeconomy Platform represents a strategic opportunity to transform agriculture from a traditional production sector into a multi-industry economic engine that supports food systems, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and industrial manufacturing. The platform would be implemented through the Agriculture-Based Cluster (ABC) system coordinated by H...