Biofuels blocked in Tanzania
Several foreign and national investors are scouring parts of Africa for high-yielding next generation feedstocks, but this has sparked one government to reportedly suspend all biofuels investments.
The attention is centered on jatropha, and mounting pressure from farmers and environmental groups have voiced concerns over food shortages leading the government to further halt land allocations for biofuel development.
‘The government was asleep,’ Esther Mfugale, the coordinator of biofuel production for Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, says. ‘We have to stop and set out clear procedures for biofuel investments.’
This follows news of a pending report from Envirocare, an environmental and human rights organisation in the country, on the impact of the jatropha industry in the country.
The Tanzanian government has no policy or framework governing biofuel developments, and this is central to issues surrounding the biofuel industry in Tanzania, the report finds.
Action Aid, an international anti-poverty agency, is also researching the impacts of biofuel production on food security in Tanzania. Eloias Mtinda, an agency spokesman, said he met recently with government and industry representatives to discuss the issue.
‘All parties need to work together on this issue. Meanwhile, no arable crop land should be made available for biofuel production until a framework is developed to monitor the industry.’
The attention is centered on jatropha, and mounting pressure from farmers and environmental groups have voiced concerns over food shortages leading the government to further halt land allocations for biofuel development.
‘The government was asleep,’ Esther Mfugale, the coordinator of biofuel production for Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, says. ‘We have to stop and set out clear procedures for biofuel investments.’
This follows news of a pending report from Envirocare, an environmental and human rights organisation in the country, on the impact of the jatropha industry in the country.
The Tanzanian government has no policy or framework governing biofuel developments, and this is central to issues surrounding the biofuel industry in Tanzania, the report finds.
Action Aid, an international anti-poverty agency, is also researching the impacts of biofuel production on food security in Tanzania. Eloias Mtinda, an agency spokesman, said he met recently with government and industry representatives to discuss the issue.
‘All parties need to work together on this issue. Meanwhile, no arable crop land should be made available for biofuel production until a framework is developed to monitor the industry.’
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