WEBINAR: Biochar systems for Sustainable Agriculture

7 May 2020. Webinar: Biochar systems for Sustainable Agriculture. The webinar was hosted by the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP). It is part of a series of webinars held by Activity Group 7 “Biogas” of the Working Group of Capacity Building (WGCB) of GBEP. More information, as well as recordings of other webinars in the series can be found on the GBEP website.

The webinar gave general introduction to biochar systems, focusing on processes and reactor technologies, and their flexibility, scalability and efficiency. It will highlight the many benefits of biochar as a soil amendment, in terms of improved soil quality, crop yield and forest growth, increased biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. The webinar will explore the potential synergies between biochar and biogas systems, as well as looking at the potential to contribute to landscape restoration, thus addressing biochar as material for co-composting with organic matter. 

The webinar was presented by Professor David Chiaramonti. Prof. Chiaramonti is a full professor of Systems for Energy and Environment at the Polytechnic of Turin, specialised in Bioenergy and Bioeconomy. His research works cover thermochemical biomass conversion processes (with special focus on hydrothermal liquefaction and pyrolysis), as well as liquid/gaseous biofuel upgrading and use. Recently, he turned his attention to biochar and compost production to improve the resilience of marginal agricultural lands to climate change, store carbon, and at the same time develop less fossildependent agriculture. He has published more than 120 scientific papers in these areas, chapters in books and studies, as well as articles in specialised magazines. 

This video is a full recording. 

Sustainable Rural Bioenergy Solutions in Africa

18-19 January 2018. Nairobi. SUSTAINABLE RURAL BIOENERGY SOLUTIONS IN AFRICA

The workshop was organized by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and Japan Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS).
This workshop took place in conjunction with the International Conference on Powering Agriculture, which aimed to enhance renewable energy solutions for agricultural development, organized by the German International Development Agency (GIZ) and the United States Agency for International Development(USAID).

In rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, solid bioenergy is the main source of energy for cooking and heating for up to 90 percent of the population. Due to growing demands on food and energy from population growth, coupled with the increasing frequency of natural disasters and climate change, it has become more challenging for rural communities in Sub Saharan Africa to meet their own food, energy and development needs.

This has substantial implications for poverty alleviation as well as for environmental protection, including forests, ecosystems and biological diversity within the region. Various innovative technologies to produce renewable bioenergy, which promote the sustainable use of locally-available resources without disrupting food and water supply, are affordable and efficient and have been emerging within the region. This workshop aims to exchange best practices and tools and establish a sound knowledge basis for policy makers and development practitioners, including private sector actors, non-governmental organizations and researchers.

The workshop focused on three themes (1) Sustainable Rural Biomass Supply, (2) Biomass-to-Energy Innovations, and (3) Tools for Enhanced Bioenergy Sustainability. At the end of the workshop, a panel discussion on the creation of enabling conditions for scaling-up innovation was held.

Download the workshop's agenda.

Presentations

Session 1: Sustainable Rural Biomass Supply

• Gender framework for bioenergy in Kenya (Dr. Linda Davis, wPower)
• Agroecology for sustainable development, food and energy security in Uganda (Mr. Ndyabandiho Saul, Center for Energy Governance, Uganda)
• Farmer Field Schools (FFS) for sustainable agroforestry in Kenya and Ethiopia (Mr.Shinji Ogawa, JICA FFS Project)
• Bio-char and food, water and energy NEXUS (Mrs. Veronica AgodoaKitti, ASA Initiative, Ghana)
• Tree breeding for enhanced bio-carbon stock in Kenya (Dr. Muturi, Gabriel M., Mr. Kariuki Jason G., Dr. Omondi, Stephen.F. and Mr. Muchiri, David. K, KEFRI, JICA)
• Firewood from tree pruning on farm and biochar producing cooking systems (Dr. Mary Njenga, ICRAF, Dr. Miyuki Iiyama, ICRAF& JIRCAS, Dr. James Kinyua, University of Nairobi & ICRAF, Dr. Ruth Mendum, Penn State University))

Session 2: Biomass to Energy Innovations

• Biomass to energy innovation: Briquette from rice husks and peanuts residues in Tanzania (Mr. Kaya Suleman Kazema, Tromso, Co. Ltd.)
• Production of Ethanol from cassava wastes in Nigeria (Dr. James Ogbonna, Nigeria University, Dr. Yoshinori Murata, JIRCAS, Dr. Hide Omae, JIRCAS)
• Resource recovery for briquettes and women empowerment in humanitarian conditions in Kenya(Dr. Mary Njenga, ICRAF, Ms. Oana Baloi, UN-Habitat, Dr. Miyuki Iiyama, ICRAF& JIRCAS, Ms. Yuka Terada, UN, Habitat, Dr. Ruth Mendum, Penn State University)
• Unlocking Potentials of New Cooking Methods with Bio-Briquettes and Efficiency Stoves for Rural Areas in Madagascar (Mr. Deepak Kumar Mohapatra, TH Köln - University of Applied Science)
• Recycled charcoal briquettes in Mozambique -Affordable and quality energy for all (Ms. Junko Arisaka, Verde Africa Lda.)
• Powering Agriculture project in Africa (Ms. Katharina Meder, GIZ) [Moderator role]
• Biogas Milk Chilling to Increase Productivity and Incomes of Dairy Farmers through their off-grid, biogas-powered milk chiller (Ms. Dorine Poelhekke, SimGas)
• Improving Coffee Production and Quality Using Infrared Technology powered by biogas generated from coffee pulp and coffee husk (Ms. Etsub Assefa, Horn of Africa)
• A mobile power plant that uses agricultural waste to fuel (Ms. Maggie Flanagan, Village Industrial Power)
• Biomass-Powered Thermal Processing of Bamboo (Mr. Dereje Worku, African Bamboo)
• Commercializing Biomass EverGreen Energy Systems for integrated food production with electrical power generation (Dr. Dennis Garrity, ICRAF)  

Session 3: Tools for Enhanced Bioenergy Sustainability

• GIS based REnergy demand-supply analysis for REDD+ in Mozambique (Mr. Joaquim Macuacua, Ministry of Environment/ex-IRENA consultant) [Moderator role]
• Challenges to create information hub and village finance in Mozambique (Mr. Atsushi Matsunaga, NBF Co.Ltd.)
• Sustainability Matrix for local investment in green energy for sustainable development of off-grid economic zones in Zimbabwe (Mr. Charles Kanyunga, Harare Institute of Technology, Zimbabwe)
• Bioenergy sustainability assessment tool with GBEP indicators for IRENA Project Navigator (Dr. Takashi Hayashi, PRIMAFF, Dr. Yasuko Inoue, IRENA-JIRCAS)
• Community biogas and clean cooking solutions for food processing in rural Ghana (Mr. Lovans Owus-Takyi. ISEES)

Panel Discussion/Plenary Discussion – Creating enabling conditions for scaling-up innovation

• Panel 2. Research perspective (Dr. Rocio Diaz-Chavez, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI))
• Panel 3. Government & community perspective (Ms. Jane Ndeti, Kenya Forest Service, Farmers Field School)
• Panel 4. NGO perspective (Mrs. Veronica AgodoaKitti, ASA Initiative, Ghana)

Pan-African food and non-food biomass expert network unveiled

12 July 2017. Bonn, Germany. The “first” pan-African expert network on food and non-food biomass has been launched by African and German researchers. There were about 80 participants from Europe and Africa.

BiomassNet aims to ensure that food security and environmental sustainability are not compromised in the development of new biomass uses. The scheme’s developers claim this will help to strengthen the emerging African bioeconomies.

The scheme was launched by Germany’s Center for Development Research ( ZEF) and the Ghana-based Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). The project was also developed within the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded project BiomassWeb.

Under the umbrella of the BiomassWeb project, German and African scientists have addressed the question of how biomass can be used more effectively and efficiently in Africa.

BiomassWeb coordinator Raymond Jatta introduced
FARA’s new data infrastructure DataInformS and
explained how BiomassNet will be integrated in
FARA's outreach platforms

“Africa, especially south of the Sahara, needs biomass both as a source of food and as a source of energy and industrial raw materials. In view of the scarcity of agricultural land, this is hardly possible at the same time. “In order to provide solutions to this problem, we need an improved exchange of knowledge and experience, as well as discussions with local partners. Scientists, politicians, businesses and civil society must work together.” Manfred Denich, director of the BiomassWeb project at the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn (ZEF).

Dr. Christine Schmitt, who leads the BiomassNet
project at ZEF, introducing the features of the
online platform Biomassnet.org.

Researchers in the BiomassWeb project are developing methods to improve food production and minimise post-harvest losses, such as spoilage. They also explore ways in which innovative processing techniques that can increase the income of small-scale farmers which makes them less prone to crises. Therefore, inedible manioc peels can serve as a substrate for mushroom cultivation which achieve good prices on local markets. The same applies to the further processing of plantains to flour, and maize residue to bio-oil or syngas, according to the developers of the scheme.

Keynote speech by Prof. von Braun (Chair of the German Bioeconomy Council): “Toward a sustainable Bioeconomy in Africa”

Related:

4-6 July 2017. Berlin. The Ethical Fashion Show Berlin presented progressive streetwear and casual wear labels during the Berlin Fashion Week.

Bamboo Belgium, presented and is producing socially responsible and sustainable bamboo home- and nightwear, yoga wear and basics. www.bamboobelgium.be

Renewable Energy: decentralised solutions in agri-food chain

Renewable Energy Benefits: Decentralised solutions in agri-food chain

 IRENA The International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.
September 2016, 57 pages

The number of people without access to electricity is estimated at more than a billion, while almost 2.9 billion still rely on traditional, unsustainable biomass sources such as firewood for cooking and heating. About 80% of those lacking modern energy access live in rural areas, which also host more than 70% of the world’s poor.

Agriculture and related agri-food activities are at the heart of the rural economy. However, rural communities struggling with expensive or inadequate power supplies are often limited to producing low-quality goods with little diversity. Extending affordable, secure and environmentally sustainable energy to underserved rural areas can drive community development, strengthen livelihoods and improve the quality of life.

Off-grid renewables can support productive activity at all stages of the agri-food chain, from irrigation to support food production, through post-harvest processes, including agro-processing and food preservation for storage and transport. Modern renewable technologies also allow sustainable food preparation and cooking.

This IRENA study analyses the benefits of introducing off-grid technologies for agriculture. Maximising the benefits of decentralised renewables depends on effective policies and regulations, appropriate business models, and integrated resource management.

The study finds that introducing these technologies in rural areas can boost agricultural productivity, reduce food losses, thereby improving food security and helping to address malnutrition, and increase resilience to climate variability.

Related:

Innovation Outlook: Renewable mini-grids
This report examines ground-breaking innovations that can help to unlock future power supply for unserved areas and communities through the rapid roll-out of mini-grids based on solar, wind or other renewable sources.


Solar PV in Africa: Costs and Markets
Abstract: The report discusses challenges in policy making and proposes a co-ordinated effort to collect data on the installed costs of solar PV in Africa, across all market segments to improve the efficiency of policy support and accelerate deployment.

The Global Atlas for Solar and Wind Energy project aims to create a collaborative internet basedGeographic Information System (GIS) forwind and solar resources that can direct and enhance cooperation on global scenarios and strategies and support decision-making, especially in areas where existing information is insufficient.

Africa Biogas and Clean Cooking Conference

5 - 7 April 2016. Addis Ababa. Ethiopia. The Africa Biogas Partnership Programme (ABPP), financially supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been implementing national biogas programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burkina Faso since 2009.

Biogas activities have been present in Rwanda, Cameroon and Benin, and more recently, biogas projects have kicked-off in Zimbabwe and Zambia. ABPP supported the installation of nearly 60,000 biodigesters.

A growing number of enterprises are delivering quality products and services to meet the increasing demand for sustainable biogas solutions; national markets are emerging. There is a lot to share and to learn from these developments. Against this background, Hivos, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity in Ethiopia are organising, in cooperation with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The conference had three specific objectives:

1. To share knowledge on maximising the benefits of biodigesters (use of biogas and application of bioslurry), and other clean cooking solutions;
2. To offer opportunities to become involved in market development programmes as a policy maker, donor organisation or investor;
3. To improve implementation practice and speeding up market and sector development for biodigesters and other clean cooking solutions.

A total of two hundred persons participated. The conference included one day of field visits to biodigester households, construction companies, bioslurry application sites, improved cook stoves producers and appliance producers.
For a flyer about the event, click here.

International Conference on Energy, Environment and Climate Change

8 - 9 July 2015. Mauritius. This International Conference was a multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed international conference on sustainable energy and environment. The conference focused on energy conversion and management, green energy, environmental engineering, environmental management, climate change and sustainable development. The conference provide a forum to:

• Exchange of latest technical information
• Disseminate of the high-quality research results
• Present of the new developments in the area
• Discuss the future global development on energy access, energy security together with the associated environmental impacts.

See: Conference Programme

One dedicated session on "LifeLong Learning for Energy security, access and efficiency in African

and Pacific SIDS" will be facilitated by the L3EAP project. The L³EAP project funded by the EC/Edulink program aims to increase the capacity of universities in African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) SIDS to deliver high-quality Lifelong Learning courses on the topics of energy access, security and efficiency.

Download the L³EAP newsletter and read the latest news and activities from the L³EAP project.

L³EAP newsletter 02 (Date: 22.06.2015 - File size: 1.08 MB)

New SNV Biomass Waste-to-Energy toolkit

Use of renewable energy sources is critical if we are to achieve the changes needed to transition to a sustainable, low emissions development trajectory. Biomass residues already make an important contribution to meeting global energy demands and their role in the modern energy supply mix is likely to expand significantly in the future.

SNV's REDD+ Energy and Agriculture Programme (REAP) recently developed and published a toolkit for development practitioners, together with the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), TBR Consulting and The Green House.

The toolkit presents a concise set of policy options to project developers and provides best practices and case studies from W2E programmes from three continents of the world and highlighted market intelligence on the potential scope of biomass waste to energy opportunities, including those for small and medium enterprise (SME) level in the supply chain.

The toolkit addresses technology, financing, consumer and environmental protection issues. Key qualitative and quantitative success factors for each waste to energy pathways have also been explored in the toolkit.

• Please download our Biomass Waste-to-Energy toolkit here.
• And find more information on SNVs REDD+ Energy and Agriculture Programme here.

ICRAF, Embrapa Strengthen Cooperation on Alternative Biofuel Crops

Manoel Teixeira de Souza, head of agroenergy with the Brazilian
Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) (left) and
Ravi Prabhu, ICRAF deputy director general for research,
sign the cooperation agreement between Embrapa and ICRAF,
on 19 August 2014

16 September 2014. Nairobi, Kenya. The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) have signed a cooperation agreement that builds on the relationship between the two institutions. 

ICRAF is implementing a four-year Programme for the Development of Alternative Biofuel Crops, with partners in South Asia, Latin America and Africa, including Embrapa, and with funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). 

The programme aims to conduct research and development along biofuel value chains, while improving food security and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. 

In Brazil, the programme focuses on research gaps that limit the development and scaling up of macaúba value chains. The macaúba, whose tree is drought-tolerant and can grow in poor soil, grows nontoxic oil-bearing fruits that can be used for producing animal feed, fuel briquettes, activated charcoal and cosmetics.

ICRAF is also partnering with Embrapa to develop silvopastoral and agroforestry systems that integrate food crops and/or livestock with macaúba trees, which would benefit smallholder producers.

Kenyan business is tapping into the organic farming market

25 April 2014. Organic farming in Africa is gaining popularity as farmers seek to exploit growing demand among the continent’s emerging middle class, as well as export to European markets with appetites for healthier foods.

Myles Lutheran, a director at Eco Fuels Kenya

Producers of organic fertilisers are taking note of the “big market opportunity”. So says Myles Lutheran, a director at social enterprise Eco Fuels Kenya, adding that organic farming “is an inevitable shift as African farmers seek to produce better quality produce, attain higher yields and protect their soils against destructive chemicals”.

Eco Fuels Kenya produces organic fertilisers and biofuel from the nuts of the Croton megalocarpus canopy forest tree. The tree is naturally abundant in equatorial East Africa, but the commercial potential of the Croton nut is largely untapped.

The company collects nuts from a network of more than 1,500 individuals in the Laikipia area (about 300km from capital Nairobi) who generate a seasonal income from the harvest.

“We squeeze oil out of the seed which has a lot of different uses including replacing diesel fuel in certain engines, curing leather and making soaps. However, the oil makes up only 10% of what we are doing,” says Lutheran. “The remaining 90% of the nuts we collect become organic fertiliser, and due to growing demand for organic fertilisers and the necessity for Kenyan farmers to adopt more sustainable farming practices that is the primary opportunity for our business.”

Eco Fuels Kenya sells its products to more than 20 export-focused corporate farms and hundreds of local small-holder horticulture farmers in central Kenya. Lutheran adds that Kenya’s market is also attractive because legislators and farmers now recognise that overuse of chemical fertilisers has depleted the country’s soils and contributes to poor yields. Eco Fuels Kenya is hoping to expand its market by encouraging farmers to supplement its chemical fertilisers with organics.

Despite the potential, Lutheran says making sales is “an uphill climb” because Kenya’s is not yet an established market for organic farming like Uganda and Tanzania.

“Turning the need for organic fertiliser into a demand for product is a timely process. You can talk to almost any farmer and they are very keen on organic, they know the benefits and they know why chemicals are bad, but they still do not just switch all of a sudden from chemicals to organic fertiliser without visible evidence of the fertilisers’ results which often means three to four months trials and another two to three months to close sales after that.”

The social, environmental and economic sustainability of biofuels production

12 March 2014: UNIDO Press Release UNIDO has announced the release of two publications that investigate the social, environmental and economic sustainability of biofuels production, with the aim of promoting investment in increased biofuels production.

1. The first publication, titled Biofuels Screening Toolkit: Guidelines for Decision Makers evaluates 74 liquid biofuels pathways in developing countries and offers guidance to decision makers on the sustainability of biofuels projects. The toolkit contains criteria for decision making on, among others: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; biodiversity; soil protection; land productivity and resource management; food security; land tenure; gender; labor conditions; cost-benefits; and life-cycle costs.
2. The second publication addresses the Impacts of Biofuel Production Case Studies: Mozambique, Argentina and Ukraine and considers sustainability impacts of scaling up production of biofuels for transport in contexts of varied industrial development. It investigates land availability as well as environmental, social and economic impacts of biofuels projects, and offers best practice recommendations in over a dozen areas.

The publications were developed as part of a Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project, titled 'Global Assessments and Guidelines for Sustainable Liquid Biofuel Production in Developing Countries.' They were written in collaboration with the FAO, UNEP and three German research institutes, namely IFEU Heidelberg, Utrecht University and Öko-Institut. 

Low Cost On-grid Electrification Technologies

3-4 September 20132. The workshop took place in Arusha and was hosted by the Rural Energy Agency (REA) Tanzania. 

This workshop was organized through the Africa Electrification Initiative (AEI), a collaboration between the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), the Africa Renewable Energy Access Program (AFREA), the EU Energy Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility, the Forum of African Energy Ministers (FEMA), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Energizing Development Partnership (EnDev) and the World Bank.

The EUEI PDF and the Africa Electrification Initiative (AEI) are aiming at empowering energy practitioners and decision-makers in Saharan Africa with the knowledge needed to successfully implement low-cost rural electrification. 

Solid biomass is the dominant form of energy in Angola and it is used unsustainably. Traditional, inefficient uses of biomass for cooking should be replaced by viable and cleaner alternatives like liquid and gas biofuels or the new-type efficient wood-burners.

The specific objectives were to:

• Raise awareness about the existence of appropriate low-cost rural electrification technologies.
• Show how and where these technologies have been implemented successfully.
• Build capacity on implementing these technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

More than 50 practitioners from 13 different countries followed the inivtation. Expert presentations and panel discussions on the various low cost technologies provided participants with detailed information on potentials and challenges; targeted case studies were carried out using the information collected by participants from their own countries.

The findings of the workshop will be compiled into a learning handbook and disseminated among participants and various rural electrification authorities, regulators, ministries and utilities in Sub Saharan Africa.

5 September 2013. It was followed by a one day work shop on Mini-Grids Opportunities for Rural Development in Africa. A “Mini-grid” is an isolated, low-voltage distribution grid, providing electricity to a community – typically a village or very small town. It is normally supplied by one source of electricity, e.g. diesel generators, a solar PV installation, a micro-hydro station etc., or a combination of the above.This workshop discussed: 

• experiences on mini-grid technology application in Africa; 
• deployment success factors; 
• recommendations and tools to improve policy and regulatory frameworks; 
• experiences on best practices; and successful project development processes and operation. 

The workshop attracted: decision-makers from public authorities; technical staff and practitioners from public authorities; advisors, regulators, engineers and representatives from standards authorities; private sector project developers; local business associations; civil society; and development partners. 

EU Development Days: Panel on Promoting Biofuels, Creating Scarcity?

On 16-17 October, the European Commission is hosting EU Development Days, a two-day forum on international affairs and development cooperation that will see Heads of State, Nobel Prize laureates, business leaders, and development professionals meet to discuss some of the global issue that are at risk of slipping down the international agenda in the wake of the economic crisis.

17 October. Panel on Promoting Biofuels, Creating Scarcity? This Panel was organised by ActionAid International, International Alliance of Catholic Development Agencies - CIDSE, European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development - Concord, Cyrpus ISland-wide NGO Development Platform - CYINDEP, EuropAfrica, Oxfam International.

Panelists

• Jasmin Battista, Personal Assistant to Commissioner Oettinger, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission 
• Phil Bloomer, Director, Campaigns and Policy, Oxfam Great Britain Belinda Calaguas, Head of Campaigns and Advocacy, ActionAid International 
• Roman Herre, Policy Coordinator on EU Agrofuels policy, Food First Information and Action Network - FIAN 
• Johan Kuylenstierna, Executive Director, Stockholm Environment Institute 
• Rehmawati Retno Winami, Programme Director, Sawit Watch Indonesia 
• Stina Soewarta, Member of Cabinet, Directorate-GEneral for Development and Cooperation - EuropeAid, European Commission 
• Rob Vierhout, Secretary General, ePure 

Aid and rights groups have welcomed the European Commission's plan to limit the use of biofuels made from land crops, but urged the EU to go further to help stop farmers in developing countries being forced from their fields.

Belinda Calaguas, Head of Campaigns and Advocacy at ActionAid International, welcomed the Commission's turnaround, and the acknowledgement that there is a catastrophic link between the use of certain biofuels and land-grabbing, price hikes and hunger.

The European Commission has proposed to halve the quantity of food-based biofuels used to meet the EU's 10 % renewable energy target. The move, which could take two years to come into force, is aimed at stimulating the use of second and third generation biofuels from materials like straw, algae or waste. Such fuel sources emit less greenhouse gases than fossil fuels and do not interfere with global food production.

Indonesia is one of the countries most affected by palm oil production. Palm oil producers obtain operating permits from local administrations rather than the central government. The Programme Director at Sawit Watch Indonesia, Rahmawati Retno Winarni, said that farming communities there face jail or violence if they protest against being evicted from their land. She said the EU has the power to influence events on the ground, particularly if the Union's policy includes free and fair community consent in the handover of land.

Phil Bloomer, Director, Campaigns and Policy, Oxfam Great Britain, said that at least 200 million hectares of land has changed hands, much of it without proper compensation, and that the major driver for this has been biofuels.

According to 2010 data, biofuels make up about 4.7 % of the EU's energy mix, with food-based fuels accounting for just over 4 %. The Commission plans to phase out subsidies for these first generation fuels by 2020, to focus on second and third generation biofuels.

Jasmin Battista, Personal Assistant to EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, said the best way forward is to establish a clear framework for making biofuels sustainable. Those which provide few benefits over fossil fuels should be discarded, while attention should also be given to high prices and price volatility. People must also reconsider how they produce and consume food, she said.

Robert Vierhout, the Secretary General of ePURE - the European renewable ethanol industry group - said that there was no connection between biofuels and high food prices. He also said that Europe does not import any ethanol from Africa for fuel use, only for beverages and industrial purposes.

Producing rural energy from cassava waste

CleanStar Mozambique sustainable cooking fuel facility (Video 02:52). The biofuel manufacturing plant enables innovative food and household energy venture to improve family health, increase farmer incomes and nutrition, and protect Mozambique's forests.

CleanStar Mozambique is an integrated food, energy, and forest protection business that works with farmers to grow a variety of crops that it then processes into food and cooking fuel products for sale in local markets.

CleanStar Mozambique helps participating farmers transition from slash-and-burn subsistence farming to a “conservation-agriculture” based approach that produces sustainable crop surpluses and boosts their income. The company provides the farmers with improved planting materials and technical assistance and then purchases whatever food products the families themselves do not consume at rural agricultural centers based around the company’s first integrated processing plant in Dondo.

Surplus cassava is converted to ethanol-based cooking fuel, flour, and chicken feed, while surplus beans, sorghum, pulses, and soya are processed into packaged food products for sale in Mozambique’s cities.

Each bottle of cooking fuel used in Maputo generates extra income and food for Mozambican farmers and prevents further deforestation from charcoal use. Over time, this steady flow of cash will help strengthen rural livelihoods and restore degraded landscapes.

The cooking fuel is bottled and sold along with modern cookstoves to low-income households in Maputo via the company’s own network of branded retail outlets. CleanStar’s cooking solution is a cleaner, faster, and safer alternative to charcoal, and priced to be directly cost competitive in urban markets. Charcoal prices have doubled in Maputo over the last three years and households now spend about a dollar a day on the fuel which requires valuable time to ignite and use. Cooking indoors with charcoal also seriously damages the health of those exposed to the noxious fumes, most often women and children.

16th October. Brussels. European Development Days.

Interview with Tom Middleton PANGEA: PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE AFRICAN BIOENERGY

Based in Brussels, PANGEA acts as a unified voice for its diverse membership; working to establish an enabling policy environment for African Bioenergy through lobbying, research, and regular events.

Tom answers following questions:

• What are the research priorities for an NGO active in biofuel and sustainable energy?
• Is rural energy receiving enough attention?
• Who was involved in the clean cook stove initiative in Mozambique?
• Is the clean cook stove initiative in Mozambique replicable?

Related:

Maria Doua of Mozambique cooks indoors
with an ethanol-fueled cooking stove,
in the Mozambican capital Maputo.

September 19, 2012. NEW YORK. Wall Street Journal. Soros Fund Invests in Mozambique Ethanol Project  – Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros's nonprofit group has invested $6 million in an ethanol project in Mozambique that will offer families in the Southern African country an alternative to polluting charcoal.

Soros Economic Development Fund and the Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) (financed by the Danish Government) invest Millions in Food Security and Clean Cooking Venture in Africa. Funding for CleanStar Mozambique benefits smallholder farmers and the environment, creates jobs, and protects families from indoor air pollution 

To increase food security in Africa and stem the disastrous human and environmental costs of indoor cooking with charcoal, the Soros Economic Development Fund and the Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries invest nearly $9 million in CleanStar Mozambique, with the option to invest more in potential pan-African expansion.

Stewart Paperin SEDF

“CleanStar Mozambique has found a commercial and scalable way to alleviate poverty in Africa,” said Stewart Paperin, president of the Soros Economic Development Fund. “This venture creates jobs, increases food security, and has sustainable environmental benefits. We’d like to see the charcoal replacement business operate successfully in dozens of countries throughout the continent.”

With over $10 billion spent annually on charcoal-based cooking across the rapidly-urbanizing continent, CleanStar’s business model is likely to be feasible in over 40 major African cities.

The new investment will create 1,000 new jobs in Mozambique by late 2014 and will help to substantially improve the incomes of smallholder farmers. CleanStar Mozambique will be able to support 2,000 smallholder farming families to increase production of nutritious staple food crops and surplus cassava, with the latter being used to make ethanol-based cooking fuel.

Finn Jønck, IFU

The investment will also help the company expand its cooking fuel distribution and retail infrastructure to reach 80,000 customers in Maputo by late 2014. Each ethanol cook stove will enable net greenhouse gas emissions reductions of approximately eight tons of CO2-equivalent per year versus a traditional charcoal stove. Taken to scale, this business will significantly reduce harmful emissions that contribute to climate change.

“Our team has seen this venture move from concept into implementation in record time,” said Finn Jønck, IFU’s Managing Director. “We are delighted to now come on board.”

About the Soros Economic Development Fund
The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) is a nonprofit private foundation that is part of the Open Society Foundations, a network of charitable foundations created by investor and philanthropist George Soros. SEDF supports economic development in post-conflict countries and in nations transitioning to democracy. We promote economic opportunities and access to information, products and services for underserved populations. SEDF invests in sustainable businesses or initiatives that strive to alleviate poverty by creating jobs and revitalizing deteriorating communities. Established in 1997, SEDF has over $200 million in investment capital and employs 15 people in New York, Budapest, Freetown, Johannesburg and Nairobi.

About CleanStar Ventures
CleanStar Ventures is a venture development partnership that harnesses business and technology innovation to drive social development and environmental restoration. CleanStar Ventures combines early-stage risk capital, technology, and expertise to create sustainable long-term value for the customers, partners, and shareholders in its ventures. Headquartered in New York, CleanStar has portfolio ventures under development in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

About The Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries

The Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) is an independent self-governing fund established in 1967 by Act of Parliament. IFU is financed by the Danish Government with the purpose of promoting economic activity in developing countries by investing on commercial terms in these countries in partnership with Danish companies. Since 1967, IFU has made more than 750 investments in 85 countries with a total investment of more than $1.5 billion.

About Novozymes 

Novozymes is the world leader in bioinnovation. Together with customers across a broad array of industries we create tomorrow’s industrial biosolutions, improving our customers' business and the use of our planet's resources. With over 700 products used in 130 countries, Novozymes’ bioinnovations improve industrial performance and safeguard the world’s resources by offering superior and sustainable solutions for tomorrow’s ever-changing marketplace. 

New international land deals database reveals rush to buy up Africa

27 April 2012. guardian.co.uk. New international land deals database reveals rush to buy up Africa. World's largest public database lifts lid on the extent and secretive nature of the global demand for land.

Almost 5% of Africa's agricultural land has been bought or leased by investors since 2000, according to an international coalition of researchers and NGOs that has released the world's largest public database of international land deals.

The database, lifts the lid on a decade of secretive deals struck by governments, investors and speculators seeking large tracts of fertile land in developing countries around the world.

The past five years have seen a flood of reports of investors snapping up land at rock-bottom prices in some of the world's poorest countries. But, despite growing concern about the local impacts of so-called "land grabs", the lack of reliable data has made it difficult to pin down the real extent and nature of the global rush for land.

Researchers estimate that more than 200m hectares (495m acres) of land – roughly eight times the size of the UK – were sold or leased between 2000 and 2010. Details of 1,006 deals covering 70.2m hectares mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America were published by the Land Matrix project, an international partnership involving five major European research centres and 40 civil society and research groups from around the world.

It is the first time a comprehensive list of international land deals has been collected and made public. The database relies on a wide variety of sources – including media reports, academic research and field-based investigations – to add detail to a global phenomenon notoriously shrouded in secrecy.

A separate report published on 25 April 2012 by the International Land Coalition, the NGO Global Witness, and the US-based Oakland Institute, denounced the "secretive culture" around large-scale land deals, and demanded governments and businesses disclose contracts and detailed information about potential risks and impacts of land-based investments.

"Far too many people are being kept in the dark about massive land deals that could destroy their homes and livelihoods," says Megan MacInnes, senior land campaigner at Global Witness. "Companies should have to prove they are doing no harm, rather than communities with little information or power having to prove that a land deal is negatively affecting them."

How rural communities can benefit from bioenergy development

5 March 2012, Rome - FAO has released a suite of guidance documents and policymaking tools that governments can use to help rural communities benefit from bioenergy development and ensure that biofuel crop production does not come at the expense of food security.

Materials released by FAO's Bioenergy and Food Security Criteria and Indicators (BEFSCI) Project include: methodologies for assessing the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of bioenergy production, indicators that can be measured when doing so, recommended good practices, and policy measures for promoting sustainable bionenergy development.

"In a few months the international community will gather for the Rio+20 conference to explore new ways to combat rural poverty and promote sustainable development. Undertaken responsibly and where appropriate, bioenergy production can offer farmers and rural people the opportunity to take part in building a new green economy, and can help counter the effects of decades of underinvestment in developing world agriculture and rural areas," said Alexander Mueller, FAO Assistant Director-General for Natural Resources Management and Environment.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, the BEFSCI project was initiated to study the complex relationship between bioenergy and food security and help policymakers make informed decisions regarding bioenergy development.

The project has generated a number of products, including: a web-based tool for assessing potential food security impacts of bioenergy projects; a comprehensive list of methodologies and indicators to assess the impacts of bioenergy on food security at the national level; a set of good environmental practices to minimize negative environmental impacts; and a compilation of socio-economic practices currently being implemented by producers that provide examples of how bioenergy development can foster rural development and enhance food security.

The project also assembled an inventory of management and policy measures that can be used to address negative social, food security or environmental impacts of bioenergy production. And it has explored how to better include smallholders in global bioenergy value chains.

Additionally, a BEFSCI briefing paper identifies and analyzes various policy instruments that governments and planners can use to require or promote good practices in bioenergy. "The paper looks at the pros, cons and appropriateness of these various instruments, so that governments who are just beginning to wrestle with these issues can learn from the experiences of others," explained Heiner Thofern, who heads up the BEFSCI project at FAO.

Europe, Africa and food security: European policies, biofuels and land grabbing conference

28 February 2012. This conference was co-organised by EuropAfrica-toward food sovereignty and CONCORD. Supported by European Union-funded project “Awareness raising on the on the relations between European policies and agricultural development in Africa”.

It covered following topics:

Mamadou Goita of ROPPA

• The Right to Food and Biofuels – Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food. This intervention by the Special Rapporteur drew on the briefing on this topic that he will be releasing in early March and his reading of the EuropAfrica report.
• Policy coherence targeting food security in Africa – EuropAfrica: Nora McKeon, Terra Nuova. This intervention illustrated the objectives and methodology of EuropAfrica’s policy coherence monitoring, which takes as its reference points the promotion of food security and sustainable small-scale production.
• Food Security and Rural development in Africa - Rural Development, Food Security and Nutrition Unit, Directorate General Development and Cooperation. A presentation by Chantal Symoens of the EU’s strategy and policy guidelines for promoting food security and sustainable small-holder food production in Africa.
• The EU and biofuels – Directorate General Energy and Transport. A presentation by Ruta Baltause of the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC (RED) and plans for its assessment during 2012.
• European energy policies and land grabbing in Africa – Roman Herre and Sylvain Aubry, Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN). Presentation of the main findings of the EuropAfrica 2011 report.
• African small-scale farmers’ concerns regarding land grabbing and biofuels – Mamadou Goita, Executive Secretary of ROPPA
• Land grabbing in East Africa – Annick Sezibera, CAPAD, Burundi and EAFF
• Land grabbing and biofuels in Senegal – Marius Dia, CNCR, Senegal

Background
The report referred to and the launch event are part of the project “Awareness raising on the relations between European policies and agricultural development in Africa”, co-funded by the European policies and agricultural development in Africa”, co-funded by the European Commission | DCI – NSAED/2010/240-529. (Bio)Fueling Injustice? [1.6MB]
The report presented at the launch event on Februrary 28 is co-sponsored by the EuropAfrica platform, composed of European NGOs and the regional farmers' platforms of West, Central and East Africa (ROPPA, PROPAC and EAFF), and by CONCORD, the European confederation of relief and development NGOs.

What is EuropAfrica? EuropAfrica - Towards Food Sovereignty, is a campaign that connects African farmers' platforms of West, Central and East Africa (ROPPA, PROPAC and EAFF) and European NGOs (Terra Nuova, Centro Internazionale Crocevia, Collectif Stratégies Alimentaires/CSA, Vredeseilanden, Practical Action, Glopolis). It supports the attainment of food sovereignty, both in Africa and in Europe, without impeding the food sovereignty of others. 

What is FIAN ? FIAN (FoodFirst Information and Action Network) is an international human right organisation organization that has advocated for the realization of the human right to food for more than 25 years.  

What is Policy Coherence for Development (PCD)? Policy Coherence for Development is about ensuring that the aims and objectives of EU development co-operation policy are not undermined by other EU policies.

Press coverage: FIAN (FoodFirst Information and Action Network) 28/02/2012 EU must stop bio-fuelling injustice and hunger in Africa
Africa Online 28/02/2012 EU must stop bio-fuelling injustice and hunger in Africa

Related: 28 February 2012 Danish EU Presidency to push for development friendly CAP
Europe's farm policy should take into account its impact on developing countries and be more coherent with anti-poverty efforts announced the Danish Presidency of the European Union.

Speaking at a conference on Trade, Development and Agriculture on 28/02 organised by CONCORD Denmark and the Danish Agriculture Council in Copenhagen, Friis Bach, Minister for Development Cooperation declared:
"Denmark will strive to promote the Policy Coherence for Development agenda during our EU Presidency. PCD is not just another ingredient of the alphabet soup, but all about making our development efforts more effective, transparent and inclusive. With clear consequences for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable groups."

Welcoming the positive approach of the Danish Presidency, Olivier Consolo, Director of CONCORD, the European NGO confederation for Relief and Development said:
"Today the Danish Presidency has stood up for a major improvement in the CAP reform that can reduce the policies negative impacts in poor countries. More EU member states should go Danish when it comes to pushing for the CAP to be more coherent with development objectives. To improve the CAP, the EU Commission needs to establish impact and monitoring mechanisms so that overseas impacts can be fully assessed.”

Pekka Pesonen, secretary-general of EU umbrella farming body Copa-Cogeca said over a billion people in the world remain in hunger today. He said international efforts should focus on ensuring a ‘substantial increase’ in agricultural investment.

Related: Rising Global Interest in Farmland. Released in draft form in September 2010 and in hard copy in January 2011, the study Rising Global Interest in Farmland --Can it yield sustainable and equitable benefits? compiles country inventories of large land transfers during 2004-09 in 14 countries, identifies global drivers of land supply and demand and highlights how country policies affect land use, household welfare and distributional outcomes at the local level. It establishes a typology, classifying countries by the size of suitable available land and yield gaps and proposes paths for responsible agricultural investments that would contribute to positive social, economic and environmental outcomes.

Partners for Euro-African Green energy

CTA Interview wirh Ms. Meghan Sapp. Ms. Meghan Sapp is the secretary general of PANGEAN, a Brussels based organization specialized in renewable energies issues in EU-ACP relations. During her visit at the CTA Brussels’ office, Ms. Sapp accorded to us an interview, where she explains highly debated issues such as food security vs. biofuels and environmental goals vs. development goals. Ms. Sapp speaks about the opportunities offered by biofuels for developing countries, by giving us a technical and political overview on biofuels and rural development.

Interview of Meghan Sapp- Secretary General of PANGEA from CTA on Vimeo.