Strategic Platforms
The Institutional Architecture of African Bioscience
BecA-ILRI Hub operates at the intersection of four strategic platforms that together translate cutting-edge science into continental food security impact — from global livestock genetics alliances to hands-on technology transfer to smallholder farmers.
Strategic Platform 01
Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics & Health
People in developing countries know that livestock are critical for sustainable development. The world’s cows, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry and other farm animals are the mainstay of livelihoods across the developing world. The energy and nutrient-dense milk, meat and eggs these animals produce provide people with basic livelihoods, incomes, food and nutrition. CTLGH is a global research alliance tackling food security through genetic improvement of tropical livestock. BecA-ILRI Hub in Nairobi serves as CTLGH's primary African node — the continent's leading centre for livestock genomics, breeding systems and training.
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Strategic Platform 02
Africa Bioscience Initiative (ABI)
Launched under the African Union and NEPAD, the Africa Bioscience Initiative (ABI) established BecA-ILRI Hub as a continental centre of excellence — making world-class bioscience infrastructure and training accessible to African scientists and national research systems.
Advanced Shared Platforms
World-class bioscience infrastructure — next-generation sequencing, proteomics, phenomics — made accessible to African scientists who would otherwise lack access to these technologies.
Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund
Competitive fellowships funding African scientists from national research systems to conduct cutting-edge research at BecA. Over 250 fellows from 30+ countries have been supported since inception.
Institutional Capacity Strengthening
Beyond individual training, ABI builds lasting institutional capacity — lab management, equipment maintenance, scientific leadership — so benefits persist in home institutions.
Knowledge Exchange Networks
Annual training workshops, scientific writing programmes and return-scientist networks ensure knowledge flows back to national agricultural research systems across the continent.
Flagship Programme
The ABI's flagship programme is the ABCF, a competitive fellowship programme supporting African scientists from national institutes and universities to conduct bioscience research at BecA. Fellows gain hands-on experience with advanced platforms, return to home institutions equipped to solve local agricultural problems, and remain connected through alumni networks.
Learn moreStrategic Platform 03
CAADP Alignment
BecA-ILRI Hub was conceived as a co-creation of NEPAD and ILRI, embedded from its founding in the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) — the African Union's framework for agriculture-led growth and food security. Every research project is demand-driven, validated against CAADP priorities. Founding mandate: BecA emerged from NEPAD's Centers of Excellence for Science and Technology framework and has operated continuously within CAADP's agricultural transformation agenda since 2003.
Learn moreHow BecA Delivers on the CAADP Agenda
PILLAR 1: Demand-Driven Research Agenda
All BecA research projects are selected through AU/NEPAD Science and Technology priority-setting processes, ensuring Hub outputs directly address the food security challenges CAADP is designed to solv…
PILLAR 2: NARS Strengthening
The Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund directly supports National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), the institutional backbone of the CAADP agenda for agricultural productivity in Africa.
pillar 3: Regional Programme Integration
BecA aligns with ASARECA and other regional bodies to ensure research outputs feed into multi-country programmes, scaling solutions across the sub-regions CAADP targets.
PILLAR 4: S3A & Food Security Outcomes
Research themes — crop improvement, livestock productivity, food safety, climate adaptation — map directly onto CAADP's Agriculture Growth and Food Security framework, with outcomes tracked against co…
Strategic Platform 04
Technology Transfer
BecA is more than a research hub. Through structured translational pathways and public–private partnerships, the Hub delivers proven technologies, diagnostics tools and improved varieties directly to African farmers, health systems and value chains — moving from bench to field at continental scale. The following are the key transfer avenues;
Next-Generation Sequencing
High-throughput genomics sequencing facility providing African researchers access to continent-leading genomic analysis capabilities.
Bioinformatics Infrastructure
Computational platforms and data pipelines enabling large-scale genomic dataset analysis, with dedicated training for African bioinformaticians.
Proteomics & Metabolomics
Advanced protein and metabolite profiling platforms supporting crop improvement, food safety and livestock health research.
Plant Tissue Culture & Transformation
Facilities for clean planting material production and plant genetic transformation, directly supporting crop improvement and seed systems.
Diagnostics Development
Applied product development track producing field-ready diagnostics tools for crop and livestock disease detection across African farming systems.
Translational Research Pipeline
Structured pathway from fundamental discovery to product development through public–private partnerships, scaling solutions to smallholder farmers.