NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 24 — African countries are sitting on a largely untapped economic opportunity that could fuel industrial growth, create millions of jobs, and strengthen climate resilience by transforming forests, trees, and agroforestry resources into high-value industries, leaders and experts have said.

📻 Breaking It Down

The call emerged during a high-level forum on tree-powered bioeconomies in Africa convened by Landscape Alliance, formerly known as CIFOR-ICRAF, in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Policymakers, scientists, investors, and development leaders agreed that the continent must shift from exporting raw biological commodities to investing in value addition, manufacturing, innovation, and market development.

Participants argued that Africa’s vast tree resources could become a major driver of green industrialization if governments create the right policies and investment environment to support processing industries and the commercialization of research.

📌 What You Need to Know

Opening the forum, Landscape Alliance Chief Executive Officer Dr. Éliane Ubalijoro challenged leaders to rethink the role of trees in Africa’s economic future.

“A tree is more than a natural asset. It is economic infrastructure. It is climate infrastructure. It is a source of food, medicine, materials, energy, enterprise, and jobs,” she said.

Ubalijoro noted that Africa’s future growth could be anchored in the forests, trees, and living systems that have sustained communities for generations, provided that investments are directed toward innovation, enterprise development, and sustainable value chains.

Discussions at the forum highlighted opportunities across a broad range of sectors, including food production, timber and construction materials, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biomaterials, renewable energy, and nature-based climate solutions.

Dr. Peter Minang, Africa Director at Landscape Alliance, said the continent must capture greater value from its natural resources by building industries around them rather than exporting raw products.

“The opportunity before us is to transform Africa’s rich tree resources into higher-value products, enterprises, and industries that benefit both people and nature,” he said.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya