Mr Nandu Nandkishore, Global Nestlé Executive Board Member and Head of Nestlé's business operations
Mr Sullivan O'Carroll, Managing Director,-NestléSouth Africa
Members of the NestléSouth Africa Executive team
Dr Sibusiso Sibisi, CEO and President, CSIR
Members of the CSIR executive team
May I begin by extending a heartfelt thank you to Mr Sullivan O’Carroll, the Chairman and Managing Director of NestléSouth Africa, for the invitation extended to me to address you at this long-awaited launch and celebration of the framework agreement between the NestléResearch Centre (NRC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) here this evening. I understand that the agreement was signed last week already –hence my description of this evening’s event as not only a launch, but also, and perhaps more importantly, a celebration.
It's hard to believe, ladies and gentlemen, that more than a year has passed since I met with the Chief Technology Officer of Nestlé in December 2010 to discuss this collaboration between NESTEC and the CSIR. Since that early, exploratory meeting, and after subsequent discussions in Cape Town last year, both parties have been beavering away towards finalising a partnership to embrace the vision of constructive, productive collaboration between the private sector and government.
The positive discussions between the Department of Science & Technology, the CSIR and Nestléincluded, as you know, a visit to the NestléResearch Centre (NRC) and to the company’s global headquarters in Switzerland last year. Nestlé’s Swiss-based scientists later returned the compliment by visiting our department.
So, a great deal of time and effort has gone into making this day possible, and I would therefore like to extend my congratulations to all concerned, particularly our colleagues from Nestléand the CSIR.
The celebration of this framework agreement precedes the finalisation of the National Development Plan by the National Planning Commission –a Plan which positions government at the centre of providing an overarching policy framework to coordinate the effective and efficient production of knowledge across universities, science councils, State Owned Enterprises and the private sector. It envisions building a society in 2030 with centres or networks of excellence in knowledge production and exploitation, where scientific advances will be used to enhance of our lives. The area that has arguably the greatest need for these scientific advances and innovations, is that of food safety and security. This evening we celebrate the start of an initiative that will have at its heart this very important issue.
The importance of the role that science must play in this regard cannot be overstated, and our department has not been slow to respond to this challenge. Two weeks ago, Minister Pandor announced 60 new research chairs, of which no fewer than seven will focus on the areas of rural development, food security and land reform –bringing the total of such chairs to ten.
I would like to briefly sketch the context and framework within which our department is prioritising food security. Our Ten-Year Innovation Plancontributes to South Africa’s transformation towards a knowledge-based economy in which the production and dissemination of knowledge will lead to economic benefits for all, and to the enrichment of all fields of human endeavour. However, the DST Innovation Plan is not a stand-alone instrument, but is supported by, and lends support to, a host of other national policies and strategies, like the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) and the New Growth Path.
The IPAP identifies some of the key sectors for which concerted investments are necessary to ensure industrialisation of the country. These key sectors include, among others,
- green and energy-saving industries,
- agro-processing,
- plastics, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, and biofuels
These sectors are intimately linked to the bioeconomy and therefore will benefit from the implementation of the Innovation Plan and in particular the bioeconomy strategy.
The New Growth Path identifies job creation as a key national priority and some of the steps identified include supporting labour-absorbing activities, such as the agricultural value chain, in the short to medium term and increasingly supporting knowledge and capital intensive sectors in the longer run in order to remain competitive. Again, our department’s Innovation Plan can have a significant impact on these identified steps.
Ladies and gentlemen, back to the more specific issue of food safety and security. Our department is close to finalising the Bioeconomy Strategy aimed at exploiting research, development and innovation tools for supporting food security and nutrition, contributing towards greening the economy, addressing healthcare challenges and improving the competitiveness of knowledge-based industries to achieve economic growth.
The proposed key strategic interventions include:
- Supporting strategy-aligned research programmes to strengthen the knowledge base.
- Creating instruments that will translate both local and foreign knowledge stocks into a pipeline of products and services that can be traded;
- Providing accredited technology development and assimilation infrastructure to promote adaptation of novel technologies by healthcare, agriculture and manufacturing industries;
- Developing a critical mass of appropriately skilled bio-entrepreneurs, technology development specialists, scientists, technicians and engineers to drive the bioeconomy; and
- Ensuring that risk capital for technology development infrastructure is available and accessible.
The Agricultural Research Council (ARC), the CSIR, the Medical Research Council (MRC) amongst others have built significant scientific capabilities that can be leveraged to accelerate the bioeconomy development. However, there are some critical gaps in the value chain, particularly the participation of big industry in ensuring that the outputs of dedicated biotechnology firms (DBFs) are commercialised and adequate risk capital provided.
One way to boost the participation of big industry is to promote public-private partnerships, such as the one we are celebrating tonight along with Nestléand the CSIR.
This partnership will bring the leading South African public research and development institutions, namely the CSIR, MRC, ARC, and Free State and Stellenbosch Universities into a consortium that will then partner with Nestlé. We are pleased to note that the partnership is directed towards researching our indigenous plant Rooibos, which not only makes a wonderfully refreshing tea, has traditionally used by local communities for a variety of health and nutritional purposes.
This partnership dovetails well with the DST's Bioeconomy Strategy, with great potential to contribute towards enhanced food security and nutrition through varieties of nutritious indigenous crops, nutraceuticals and functional foods, fortfified foods, cost-effective solutions to address animal and plant health, and technology solutions that increase productivity under environmentally strained conditions. In addition to improving food security, nutrition and improved health through food production, the impact of infusing the agricultural sector with research, development and innovation will also enhance the competitiveness of agribusinesses and thus promote job creation. And our department is committed to working with private institutions to ensure that our bio-economy strategy will deliver on the promise to make South Africa a world class environment for life sciences.
This public-private partnership we are celebrating this evening is indeed an exciting initiative, based on a strategic partnership with a leading multinational company. It is our expectation that the NestléResearch Centre will link up with South Africa’s emerging bioprocessing base, ultimately leading to competitive product development.
This partnership with Nestlérepresents a significant step towards realising the vision of our Bioeconomy Strategy. The anchor of this partner consortium is the Swiss-based NestléResearch Centre (NRC), renowned as the world’s largest private food and nutrition research institute. The NRC employs over 350 scientists from all over the globe, working closely with Nestlé’s global network of Research and Development Centres, comprising over 5000 people, with the aim of translating science into products, systems and businesses.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have over the years watched and admired the growth of Nestléboth nationally and internationally. Its Southern Africa footprint is already substantial, with nine regional factories producing signature goods ranging from non-diary creamer, ice cream, chocolate, coffee and beverages, infant nutrition, pet food and milk. The company has demonstrated its commitment to forging sustained and strategic partnerships with government in its key focus areas of water, nutrition and rural development.
Given these impressive credentials I am confident that our relationship with Nestléwill give us an opportunity to learn from its innovation, as we jointly develop strategies to pursue regional and global opportunities, to enhance our capabilities, promote inclusive growth and make the best use of our finite resources. In this way, we can collectively transform our economy, as envisaged in the Bio-economy Strategy and continue to make steady progress in building sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships for development.
There is another reason for my enthusiasm for this initiative. I have little doubt that it has the potential to become a gateway into Africa’s Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) activities. Both Nestle and the CSIR have a strong presence in Africa, with the CSIR hosting institutions such as the African Union NEPAD Agency regional offices for biosciences. Moreover, I believe that if properly guided, this partnership can strengthen the role of science and technology in Africa’s development in the areas of health and nutrition. This is something that is urgently needed, particularly given the fact that in recent decades, food production has increased globally by 140%, whilst declining in sub-Saharan Africa over the same period. As government we are of the view that this strategic partnership and collaboration is not about pushing “chocolates or breakfast cereals”but about pushing development. And this is what gives this venture its undoubted strength.
We are also equally convinced that given the CSIR’s involvement in this project, and the close relationship it has with local communities, the latter will access the benefits of this multi-sectoral partnership.
Given that the biggest challenge facing Indigenous knowledge systems is that they are not incorporated into institutional research programmes and thereby remain in the periphery of mainstream science and technologies, it is hoped that this partnership will mainstream its support for R&D in genetic resources and its associated indigenous knowledge. An effort should be made to properly recognise the local communities’role in and contribution towards the knowledge stocks available for research development and innovation. The benefits of RDI should be extended to these communities.
Since we're talking about rooibos tonight, I hope to see many of you opting for a cup of this delicious beverage after dinner, instead of going for the usual after-dinner coffee. Talking about tea, let me conclude on a light-hearted note, with a quote from the well-known comedian Billy Connolly, who once said “Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn’t try it on!"
I thank you, and wish you all a very pleasant dinner, and a lasting and mutually beneficial partnership!
