Nuts to boost Tanzania biofuels

Nuts to boost Tanzania biofuels
19 January 2009

Biodiesel using nuts from the Croton tree will help Tanzania replace 10% of its oil requirements by 2018
A biodiesel project in Tanzania is looking at manufacturing biofuel using the oil from the nuts of the Croton tree.

The Africa Biofuel and Emission Reduction project will take place in Tanzania's northwestern Kagera region where the Croton tree grows in abundance.

The initiative is to replace up to 10% of Tanzania's oil requirements by 2018 through the production and sale of cheaper vegetable oil as biodiesel. It will also provide a new cash crop to smallholder farmers.

‘We've been analysing the tree and the nuts for the past seven years and the seeds contain 27% oil by weigh,’ Africa Biofuel and Emission Reduction project manager Christine Adamow says.

‘Our analysis tells us that this oil, as a source of straight vegetable oil, provides a clean source of biofuel for diesel generators and diesel motors.’

Fossil-based diesel in western Tanzania costs almost US$11 (€8.40) a gallon. The project aims to retail the biofuel at about 60% of prices at the pump.

‘We've seen a worldwide increase in the maize price, for example, as a result of shortages because farmers in places like the US have started to grow the crop specifically for the purposes of making ethanol. We don't want any repeats of this,’ Adamow adds.

The area targeted as the core plantation is an underused land area of approximately 20,000 hectares that had been used as a coffee plantation.

Click to expand...

Biofuels International - Industry News

Hii ni good news!

Can you define the "underused land"? Do we have the underused land in Tanzania? The land in question was formerly a coffee plantation and still you call it "underused land". If you are not careful, you will be dancing to the tunes of the investor!

Many governments, including UK, are now cutting investments in biofuel production. This is due to the fact that many biofuel projects are unsustainable (it has been proved so and the concern is growing as new insights come in). Croton tree? Do we have enough trees/feedstocks to meet the market demand for diesel? Or it will require more land to meet the supply. What is the alternative source of cocking oil for local population?

Another important thing to note is that Tanzania, like many other African countries, lacks institutions to guide biofuel production. We have neither policy nor regulations to guide the investments on biofuel. So, things are happening haphazardly. We are not prepared at all! We might have some experts in place but they are not doing their job. We used to have a TaskForce to advice the government on the best way to follow. But many of their meetings were paid for by investors looking for big chunks of land in our endowed country. So, before you know it, all the potential land will be under the control of foreigners with nothing left for landowners (the people of Tanzania).

It takes the brave and committed minds to get biofuel project right. Otherwise, this is a recipe for disaster. And in the end, it will be the Ministry of Industry to blame.