Mozambique
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Bioenergy > Regions > Africa > Mozambique
Information about biofuels and bioenergy in Mozambique.
Contents |
Events
- 11-13 May 2010, Maputo: Bioenergy Markets Africa. (Themes: Africa, specifically Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi & Madagascar, food vs. fuel, GHG reductions, jatropha, land tenure, life cycle analysis, policy, water)
- 4-6 March 2009, Maputo, Mozambique: Powering Africa: The Biofuels Options (Themes: Africa, investment, policy)
Issues
News
- Biofuel jatropha falls from wonder-crop pedestal, 21 January 2011 by Reuters: "Jatropha, a biofuel-producing plant once touted as a wonder-crop, is turning out to be much less dependable than first thought, both environmentalists and industry players say."
- "Some biofuel producers found themselves agreeing with many of the criticisms detailed in a report launched by campaign group Friends of the Earth this week -- 'Jatropha: money doesn't grow on trees.'"
- "Jatropha has been widely heralded as a wonder plant whose cultivation on non-arable land in Africa, Asia and Latin America would provide biodiesel and jobs in poor countries without using farmland needed to feed growing numbers of local people."
- "'Jatropha is not the miracle crop that many people think it is,' said Dominic Fava, business development manager of British biofuels firm D1 Oils, which processes jatropha grown in Asia and Africa."
- "'The idea that jatropha can be grown on marginal land is a red herring,' Harry Stourton, Business Development Director of UK-based Sun Biofuels, which cultivates jatropha in Mozambique and Tanzania, told Reuters."
- "'It does grow on marginal land, but if you use marginal land you'll get marginal yields,' he said."[1]
- Mozambique to get 19 million dollar biofuels project, 9 August 2010 by AFP: "Mozambique's state fuel company has partnered with the private sector to invest 19 million dollars (14 million euros) in biofuel production, state media reported on Monday."
- "National supplier Petromoc, Portuguese fuel company Galp and biodiesel producer Ecomoz will produce biodiesel in the northern Manica province from jatropha curcas plantations, Noticias newspaper reported."
- "A minimum of 10,000 hectares will be cultivated at first, with possible expansion to 50,000 hectares later, the paper reported."[2]
- Africa Can Grow Biofuel Crops Without Harming Food, Habitats, Study Shows, 23 July 2010 by Rudy Ruitenberg: "A study of biofuel production in Senegal, Mali, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique found enough land is available to “significantly” raise cultivation of sugar cane, sorghum and jatropha for energy production without reducing food output, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, or FARA, said in a statement today."
- "In less developed African countries, yields may be tripled by “improved management practices,” potentially freeing up land for energy crops, the researchers said. Farmers in Nigeria produce about 1.8 metric tons of corn a hectare (2.47 acres), less than half the world average and under a fifth of U.S. yields, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture."[3]
- Read the full report here: Mapping Food and Bioenergy in Africa (PDF)
- "In less developed African countries, yields may be tripled by “improved management practices,” potentially freeing up land for energy crops, the researchers said. Farmers in Nigeria produce about 1.8 metric tons of corn a hectare (2.47 acres), less than half the world average and under a fifth of U.S. yields, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture."[3]
- Biofuel producers warn EU over "unjustifiably complex" sustainability rules, 7 November 2008 by BusinessGreen: "Eight developing countries have written to the EU warning they will complain to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if it passes proposed legislation designed to improve the environmental sustainability of biofuels by restricting the types of fuels the bloc imports."
- "The EU is considering legislation that is intended to ban the purchase of biofuels from energy crop plantations that are believed to harm the environment and lead to food shortages by displacing land used for food crops and contributing to rainforest deforestation."
- "[E]ight countries – Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Indonesia and Malaysia – have written to the EU to protest against the proposals" in a letter that "claims that the new rules would 'impose unjustifiably complex requirements on producers' and argues that environmental criteria 'relating to land-use change will impinge disproportionately on developing countries'."[4]
- Mozambique approves large biofuel project to counter rising fuel prices, 17 July 2008 by the International Herald Tribune: "The Mozambican government says it approved a large biofuel project to counter the effects of rising fuel prices."
- "The government said Thursday that it plans to plant sugar cane on 18,000 hectares (44,500 acres) to produce ethanol in central Mozambique."
- "The project will cost US$280 million, and will create 2,650 jobs. Last year, Mozambique launched a similar project covering 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres)."[5]
- Mozambique signs ethanol mega-deal: $510 million, 30,000 hectares of sugarcane, 22 October 2007, by Biopact: Mozambique's Agricultural Minister has confirmed the deal with Central African Mining & Exploration Company Plc to build a plantation and ethanol plant.
Publications
See books, reports, scientific papers, position papers and websites for additional useful resources.
- Biofuels, land access and rural livelihoods in Mozambique Isilda Nhantumbo and Alda Salomão, June 2010. "This report explores the early impacts of the biofuels boom on access to land and on local livelihoods in Mozambique. It draws on fieldwork on biofuel projects representing different business models for agricultural production."
Organizations
Governmental organizations
Nongovernmental organizations
Companies
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