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The South African bioeconomy strategy did not clearly articulate the measurement framework to monitor the implementation of the strategy. This paper provides an analysis of bioeconomy patents, the most prolific organizations and citations at the EPO and USPTO for South Africa, BRICS, Egypt and Nigeria during the Ten-Year Innovation Plan 2008–2018. The terms 'biotechnology', 'medical technology', 'pharmaceuticals' and 'selected environment-related technologies' were used to search for patents. The OECD patents by technology, the EPO PATSTAT and the USPTO PatFT databases were used to map patents and citations. The results show that South Africa ranked last in the BRICS group but produced a higher number of patents than Egypt and Nigeria. The number of patents generally decreased for the selected countries except for China. The total citations for the selected countries was generally inconsistent. The important innovators for South Africa in the bioeconomy are mainly universities and public research institutions. A new fiscal approach to encourage knowledge application in bioeconomy in South Africa is required. Incentives from government that encourage collaboration between research institutions and industry to direct research with industry application are required. The study contributes to the development of metrics to monitor the bioeconomy in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the collaboration dynamic among areas of knowledge and countries from 1975 to 2017 within the bioenergy field and from a complex network approach, as a driver for the evolution of technological frontiers and emerging paradigms, seeking opportunities for a transition to low carbon economies. The results provide detailed information on international collaboration from patent networks and the spatial distribution of bioenergy, from three perspectives of analysis: origin, development, and potential emerging paths. In addition, the evidence shows that advances in the bioenergy frontiers, more specifically in the biotechnology field, follow a pattern characterized by the intensification of both collaboration and interdependence among several areas of knowledge and countries. With this, we expect to stimulate the debate on innovation dynamics within a complex network perspective and to contribute to policymakers' decision support regarding bioeconomy innovation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability and the future of food systems have become major food policy discourses in recent years. While prior research has focused on analyzing social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability separately, the present study takes a broader approach to understand the interconnectedness of these dimensions. The present study involves a cross-sectional survey of 90 biofortified cassava base of pyramid (BoP) producers in Nigeria. Data for this study were collected through structured interviews and analyzed using a combination of descriptive analysis and the structural equation modelling (SEM) method. The analysis of the fit indices indicates that the model is appropriate, and the associations between the dimensions and their constructs are statistically significant and positive, suggesting a robust relationship that supports the hypothesized path movements. Our analysis revealed a strong correlation between environmental and economic issues, emphasizing the significance of value-based supply chain practices as a marketing option and its considerable market potential, among other considerations. The study supports adopting a systemic approach in managing sustainability challenges and, thus, serves as a foundation for developing sustainable policies that align the demands of the market, society, and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]