Vittorio Venturi (ICGEB, Trieste and UM6P, Morocco) has published a Correspondence article in Nature Food proposing a pragmatic strategy to activate Africa’s microbial inoculant sector.
The piece presents a perspective on the way forward for the food and microbial inoculant sector in Africa, acknowledging the B-INOC programme of ICGEB.
Microbial products such as biofertilizers, biopesticides, and fermentation starter cultures are essential for sustainable agriculture and food systems. Yet, despite strong scientific expertise and rich microbial diversity, most of these products currently used in Africa are imported.
The article entitled “Activating Africa’s microbial inoculant sector through prioritization of mature technologies” argues that the key bottleneck is not microbial discovery, but limited translational and manufacturing capacity. It calls for prioritising mature, high-demand technologies, including rhizobial inoculants, Bacillus and Trichoderma biocontrol agents, and lactic acid bacteria starter cultures, as a practical starting point to build local production, quality control, and regulatory systems.
Dr. Venturi explains: “Focusing on proven technologies could reduce import dependence while laying the foundation for a robust, locally rooted microbial bioeconomy and creating momentum for future innovation in microbial technologies.”
Scientific Coordinator of the ICGEB between 2019-2024, Dr. Venturi continues to drive the Bacteriology laboratory at ICGEB Trieste and is currently Professor at the African Genome Center, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Ben Guerir, Morocco.
The work acknowledges the B-INOC project of ICGEB, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) under the Piano Mattei programme for Africa.
Link to article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-026-01327-y
More information on the B-INOC project
