Pretoria - Using science and innovation as a driving force behind stimulating economic growth in South Africa has been identified as an important strategy to also fight poverty, unemployment and inequality.
This was highlighted during the first of the two-day 8th biennial conference, which started at the CSIR in Pretoria yesterday.
Under the theme “Harnessing research, development and innovation for a robust South African economy”, the summit attracted 1 800 participants, including scientific experts, academia, industry leaders from around the world and members of the public.
The conference is expected to also address challenges related to power outages, water cuts, climate change and the high unemployment rate, which have put pressure on an already volatile economy affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It will also look at the opportunity for South Africa to become a significant player in the hydrogen market.
Speaking on the conference theme, CSIR chief executive Dr Thulani Dlamini said their view was that long-term sustainable economic growth in South Africa could only come about if it was underpinned by innovation and capability development.
The CSIR had a role to play in driving the conversation about building the economy through science and innovation, he said, adding that “the model has been proven in other parts of the world and South Africa is no exception”.
He talked about the CSIR plan which supported industrial development, saying: “Our view is that if this plan is implemented as intended I think South Africa will go a long way in ensuring we have long-term sustainable economic growth in our country.”
He said harnessing research, development and innovation was significant for building a robust economy, including local production, addressing unemployment and overcoming the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The conference will also focus on the three economic sectors of mining, agriculture and manufacturing.
“The sectors are most critical in terms of creating jobs,” Dlamini said.
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande, who addressed the audience virtually as a key speaker, challenged participants to look at the progress of the country in addressing poverty, unemployment, inequalities and Covid-19.
Participants are also expected to discuss scientific and innovative solutions to deal with energy challenges, water and climate change.
Nzimande said: “There is overwhelming evidence globally to support the link between a country’s investment in research and development and social economic development prosperity in general.”
He said science and innovation was not a side thing, but an essential component of government policy, saying the role of his department was to create an enabling environment for business and industry to survive. “We must not only be consumers of the 4IR technologies, but we must also be producers of the 4IR technologies.”
Challenges facing the agricultural sector such as low-level involvement of youth, climate variability, low productivity, lack of finance, land tenure system clarity, among other challenges, also came under the spotlight.
One of the speakers was chief strategy officer at WinField United South Africa, Marius Boshoff, who talked about challenges in the future of plant health management.
“Whatever we do with data or decision support, we need to keep farmers to be economically viable with science- backed tools that support regenerative practices,” he said.
CSIR board chairperson Professor Thokozani Majozi said: “With the 13th edition of South Africa’s economic update stating that job losses in Covid-19 times are disproportionately concentrated among low-income earners, worsening already severe inequalities despite the government’s decisive and pro-poor response, the CSIR has its work cut out to empower existing industries, develop new ones and ensure adequate skills development and representativity.”
Pretoria News