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Today, the majority of the African population finds itself trapped in a vicious cycle of low energy consumption, heavy dependence on traditional biomass energy, poverty and vulnerability to climatic variation. Modern bioenergy offers unique opportunities toward a strategy for unlocking this trap and developing smallholder business potential in Africa. With its tropical climate and huge land mass, Africa's bioenergy potential is almost unlimited. Harnessing it requires, at least, a two-pronged strategy: (i) promoting smallholder production and processing schemes; and (ii) encouraging socially and environmentally-sustainable large scale investment.
Africa and traditional biomass energy
Of the total energy Africa consumes, traditional biomass (solid wood, twigs and cow dung) accounts for 59 per cent providing fuel to about 320 million people and, according to forecasts by the International Energy Agency (IEA), this figure is set to increase. By 2015, the IEA predicts a further 54 million Africans will be dependent on traditional biomass. This surge in consumption comes primarily from two sources: (i) a rapid population growth estimated at 2.5 per cent (the world's highest); and (ii) slow industrial and service sector growth and subsequent failure to create off-farm employment opportunities.
Benefits of modern bioenergy in an Africa setting
Modern bioenergy can be produced in liquid, gas, or solid form, with liquid biofuel the most common, and can be used for agro-industrial production, transportation, cooking, and lighting. Bioenergy technologies are expanding fast and have a number of key benefits for African production.
Broad-based development and greater multiplier effects
Widely available crops and plants are the basis for bioenergy production; crops that can be grown in many areas under rainfed conditions, with low input costs (fertiliser).
Because bioenergy can be developed in many areas with low input costs, it can benefit both small and large scale farming operations. It can open up new livelihood opportunities and domestic and export markets, enhancing rural economic transformation. This contrasts with the experience of countries with oil and mineral resources where wealth has typically been concentrated in the hands of the few, resulting in slow economic growth and continued deprivation of much of the population.
Suitable for smallholder agriculture business
More than 80 per cent of the population of many African countries is engaged in agriculture, which is primarily smallholder and largely subsistence. Modern bioenergy can be produced at this smallholder level, creating possibilities for generating cash income. It also encourages the formation of agricultural marketing and processing cooperatives, which, in turn, facilitate adoption of modern agricultural inputs and better farming practices.
Possibilities to export high value commodities
Modern bioenergy creates possibilities to produce a high value crop (biofuel/biodiesel) that has lucrative domestic and export market opportunities. Producing and processing biofuels at the smallholder level opens up new sources of income for a large segment of the population.
Low tech solutions to energy problems
Modern bioenergy technologies are simple and easily transferable since these are basically oil-pressing and alcohol distillation processes already known by local people. Most technologies can be easily operated and maintained with capacity that already exists at the village level by blacksmiths, and others developed with a little training.
Productive use of a vast area of uncultivated land
Africa's total cultivable land is estimated at 840 million hectares. Of this land, only 27 per cent is used (cultivated), compared to 87 per cent for Asia and 97 per cent for Southwest Asia. The development of bioenergy offers opportunities to convert the uncultivated area into energy wealth, given appropriate socially and environmentally responsible policy measures.
Environmental benefits of modern bioenergy
With proper planning, bioenergy enhances the sustainable use of biological resources, ultimately supporting environmental recovery. Bioenergy also burns less carbon than traditional energy sources, helping to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by new plants and recycled, rather than being released into the atmosphere. In contrast, carbon from fossil fuel combustion is fully released into the atmosphere.
Challenges of bioenergy in an African setting
The promotion, production, marketing, and use of modern bioenergy face several constraints. However, ample opportunities exist to tackle these challenges.
High production costs
According to IEA, "grain-based ethanol costs on average around $0.30/litre ($0.45/litre of gasoline equivalent) in the US after production subsidies, which means competitiveness with gasoline at an average crude oil price of between $65 and $70 per barrel. In Europe, ethanol production costs, including all subsidies, are about $0.55/litre (0.80/litre of gasoline equivalent)". Brazil's ethanol industry, according to a presentation at the 2005 IIE biofuels conference, breaks even at $35 per barrel oil equivalent. However, Brazil produces almost all its sugarcane from rainfed agricultural practices and is believed to be the world's most efficient producer of sugarcane. In many African countries, which have lower agricultural productivity levels, production of both sugarcane and corn-based biofuel would entail much higher costs and therefore be far less price competitive with oil.
Food production and prices
Normally, when demand for corn, rapeseeds, soybean, and other biofuel crops rises, prices will also increase, thereby encouraging farmers to bring more land under cultivation. Under African conditions, however, the prevailing subsistence agricultural technology, poor market infrastructure, and low investment capacity may not permit expansion of both food and energy crops. The likely scenario would be for farmers to devote more of their land to cultivating biofuels feedstock and less to food and animal feed crops. This is likely to result in an across-the-board increase in crop prices and animal feed prices of animal feed.
Access to and efficiency of bioenergy technology
Much of the available knowledge on biofuels technology is based on large scale farming of two feedstocks: sugar cane and corn. Newer technologies that use a wide variety of feedstocks and operate at different capacities, particularly on a small and medium scale, are not yet widely available and easily accessible. For example, jatropha curcas has been a highly promising biodiesel feedstock in Zambia, India and other developing countries.
Land requirement
The land issue needs to be seen within the context of different production systems. For example, commercial farming runs the risk of crowding out small farmers to give space to large tracts of land needed by big business, and will clearly be constrained by land shortage. For smallholder agriculture, land availability would not be a serious constraint, particularly if appropriate land tenure and use policies are developed.
Policy and institutional weaknesses
The successful promotion, sustainable production, and marketing of bioenergy require strong policy and institutional support. However, policy and institutional weaknesses are often cited as primary constraints to the effective implementation of sustainable projects throughout Africa. What does make the bioenergy sector different is the magnitude and urgency of the energy problem, the supportive international climate, and the national, regional, and global processes that are promoting renewable energy development, in general, and bioenergy in particular.
Environmental impacts of monocultures
Supplying feedstocks to bioenergy plants requires growing the same crop year after year. Sugarcane, corn, sweet sorghum, and palm, currently the most known feedstocks, deplete soil nutrients. Continuous cultivation of these crops can turn arable land barren and eventually alter negatively the ecosystem and its services. Feedstocks grown on a small scale have greater possibilities for crop rotation, for example, switching between sweet sorghum and soybean, which replenish soil nutrients.
Threat to rainforest ecosystem
Sugarcane and palm have their best growth and productivity in high rainfall and humid areas, which are rainforest zones. Because investors usually hunt for good soils and rainfall, there will be a threat to Africa's small remaining rainforest. A good example is the highly publicised case of Mehta of Lugazi Sugar Works in Uganda that insisted on using a part of the Mabira Forest reserve, a pristine forest area richly endowed with biodiversity, for its sugar plantation. A government decision to grant the land was reversed following violent public protests that claimed some lives.
The way forward
The successful production, use, and marketing of modern bioenergy production require a long-term strategic vision of what feedstock to produce and how to produce it. A strong political commitment is needed also to translate the vision into concrete policy measures and implement them. Bioenergy investment and production need to be carefully planned and appropriate feedstocks chosen to ensure ventures are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.
Develop a national bioenergy strategy and policy
A national bioenergy policy is necessary to create an enabling environment for the production of sustainable bioenergy at both smallholder and large scale levels. Such a policy should take a holistic approach to the investment, production, processing and marketing of bioenergy. A well articulated bioenergy policy has huge multiplier effects and cross-sectoral impact that positively influences agricultural, industrial, and trade development. It is also an important means to mobilise external and internal resources.
Develop new and innovative funding mechanisms
In addition to accessing funding opportunities from traditional multilateral and bilateral sources, there is a need for bold new measures to generate funding, which may include: linking big investment and smallholder producers; micro-credit programmes; an infrastructure to reach widely-dispersed smallholder farms; public-private partnerships; concessionary loans; subsidies; cross-industry partnerships that tie the provision of one sector's services with funding to support bioenergy initiatives; and technical capacity to access global funds (e.g., Clean Development Mechanism and Global Environment Facility (GEF)).
Invest in research and development
Largely in response to high oil prices, extensive research is underway on first and second generation technologies. To fully benefit from this, African countries need to have the human resources and the institutional infrastructure to facilitate the transfer, adoption, application, and development of bioenergy technologies.
Increase the country's bioenergy potential through reforestation
Traditional biomass energy will continue to be the primary source of household energy in at least the next two to three decades. Tree planting is a low cost approach to increasing biomass density. Through improving vegetation cover, tree planting facilitates environmental recovery, reduces the hardship on women collecting firewood, mitigates climate change, generates income, and augments resources for modern bioenergy use.
Conclusion
Africa has huge bioenergy potential and technological advances make it highly promising. The current challenges of modern bioenergy, including the high cost of production of biofuels should not discourage our bioenergy outlook. The possibilities for developing non-food crops and perennial plants as biofuel feedstocks are broad and within reach, given the extensive research work underway at the global level. What is needed is not only political goodwill but also an enabling policy and institutional environment (on the part of key players) towards meeting Africa's sustainable energy and development objectives through promoting environmentally and socially sustainable large scale investments, while at the same time creating opportunities for smallholders to be energy producers.
Africa's energy consumption patterns
About 550 million people (75 per cent of the total population) in Sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity or any kind of modern energy services. Of the total energy Africa consumes, traditional biomass (solid wood, twigs, and cow dung) accounts for 59 per cent, electricity 8 per cent, petroleum 25 per cent, coal, 4 per cent and gas, 4 per cent.
Author
Mersie Ejigu is President and Chief Executive Officer of Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability (PAES) and Senior Fellow, Foundation for Environmental Security and Sustainability (FESS). Prior to that, he worked as Assistant Director General, Programmes and Policy of IUCN, The World Conservation Union based in Gland, Switzerland. He joined IUCN as the Regional Director of IUCN Eastern Africa. In his home country, Ethiopia, he was Minister of Planning and National Development of Ethiopia for nine years, during which time he guided, coordinated and managed the formulation of Ethiopia's annual, medium term, and long term development plans and the annual development budget.
Organisation
Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability (PAES) is a non-governmental organisation head-quartered in Kampala, Uganda, established to promote environmentally and socially sustainable development in Africa based on best practices.
Enquiries
Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability
5th Floor, Pan Africa House, PO Box 10273
Plot 3, Kimanthi Avenue, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: ++256 41 267068 | Fax: ++256 41 267041
E-mail: ;
PO Box 50914, Lusaka Zambia
PAES USA, 1120 19th Street,
N W Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: +1 (202) 744 4357
Fax: +1 (202) 785 5904 or (703) 760 0797
Picture credit: PAES
