First sugarcane ethanol plant for Nigeria
US based company Lemna International has announced it plans to establish a 6.3billion naira (€38/US$50 million) ethanol production plant in eastern Nigeria's Taraba state within the next four months. The plant will use sugarcane as raw material for the ethanol, which is fast becoming the closest alternative to crude oil, as the price of the commodity continues to rise in the international market. Even though Nigeria is a major oil exporter and an OPEC member, its own economy is energy intensive and suffers under high energy prices. Ethanol investments are expected to partly offset this dependency.
Poverty alleviation
Lemna will use sugarcane as a feedstock, to be grown on 30,000 to 50,000 hectares of land. Speaking before a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the company and the Taraba state government, the firm's president, Viet Ngo, pointed out that the raw material would be produced by local farmers and that the company would pay more for it than what Nigerian sugar producers and consumers are willing to pay. This will translate into higher incomes for the producers of the crop and help in alleviating poverty. The state government is to provide the land, agricultural extension services and some form of 'social co-ordination' (it is unclear what is meant under this term). Nigeria's sugarcane industry is in its infancy, which is why Tabara state wants this project to start under the right conditions:
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: sugar cane :: poverty alleviation :: Nigeria::
No indication was given as to the capacity of the plant, but given the large land base and investment, we estimate that it will be in the order of 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes per year.
Viet Ngo added that, being from Minessota, "we share something with Taraba. We are an agrarian state. Minnesota is the biggest producer of agricultural produce and we are the biggest producers of ethanol in the USA. Taraba state is blessed with abundance of good land. The agricultural output is great but with the need for more fuel, this is a welcome development."
Also speaking before the MOU was signed by the state and the company, Governor of the state, Jolly Nyame said "Today marks an important event in the history of Taraba state. We are happy to associate ourselves with Lemna, a prominent company in the establishment of bio-ethanol plant. It is because of the warm climate in the state that the president has invited people to come and invest in the state." He told Mr. Ngo that "with the signing of this MOU, it is a clear indication that you are welcome to Taraba state."
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has in recent times encouraged the pursuit of alternative and renewable source of energy for the country. The renewable energy division of the corporation said it was working hard to actualize the fuel ethanol program for Nigeria. Engineer Funsho Kupol-okun, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC said early this year that upon the conclusion of rehabilitation works at the Atlas cove and Mosimi depots, its seeding programme for ethanol will commence.
Besides sugarcane, Nigeria is looking into using cassava as an ethanol crop. Nigeria's President, Olesogun Obasanjo, earlier launched a cassava ethanol program aimed at boosting the creation of an industry around the starch rich tuber and at bringing millions of jobs (earlier post). Even though Nigeria has a huge cassava production potential, the lack of both export and local markets keeps this potential untapped. The development of an export-oriented ethanol industry is seen as a way to overcome this problem.
Brazil's successful ethanol program serves as a blueprint for Nigeria's own state-supported initiatives. Both countries are actively cooperating on the matter. Earlier, China also signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with China to promote the production of cassava-ethanol. A first investment by a Chinese firm has been made in the sector (earlier post).
Article continues
Poverty alleviation
Lemna will use sugarcane as a feedstock, to be grown on 30,000 to 50,000 hectares of land. Speaking before a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the company and the Taraba state government, the firm's president, Viet Ngo, pointed out that the raw material would be produced by local farmers and that the company would pay more for it than what Nigerian sugar producers and consumers are willing to pay. This will translate into higher incomes for the producers of the crop and help in alleviating poverty. The state government is to provide the land, agricultural extension services and some form of 'social co-ordination' (it is unclear what is meant under this term). Nigeria's sugarcane industry is in its infancy, which is why Tabara state wants this project to start under the right conditions:
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: sugar cane :: poverty alleviation :: Nigeria::
No indication was given as to the capacity of the plant, but given the large land base and investment, we estimate that it will be in the order of 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes per year.
Viet Ngo added that, being from Minessota, "we share something with Taraba. We are an agrarian state. Minnesota is the biggest producer of agricultural produce and we are the biggest producers of ethanol in the USA. Taraba state is blessed with abundance of good land. The agricultural output is great but with the need for more fuel, this is a welcome development."
Also speaking before the MOU was signed by the state and the company, Governor of the state, Jolly Nyame said "Today marks an important event in the history of Taraba state. We are happy to associate ourselves with Lemna, a prominent company in the establishment of bio-ethanol plant. It is because of the warm climate in the state that the president has invited people to come and invest in the state." He told Mr. Ngo that "with the signing of this MOU, it is a clear indication that you are welcome to Taraba state."
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has in recent times encouraged the pursuit of alternative and renewable source of energy for the country. The renewable energy division of the corporation said it was working hard to actualize the fuel ethanol program for Nigeria. Engineer Funsho Kupol-okun, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC said early this year that upon the conclusion of rehabilitation works at the Atlas cove and Mosimi depots, its seeding programme for ethanol will commence.
Besides sugarcane, Nigeria is looking into using cassava as an ethanol crop. Nigeria's President, Olesogun Obasanjo, earlier launched a cassava ethanol program aimed at boosting the creation of an industry around the starch rich tuber and at bringing millions of jobs (earlier post). Even though Nigeria has a huge cassava production potential, the lack of both export and local markets keeps this potential untapped. The development of an export-oriented ethanol industry is seen as a way to overcome this problem.
Brazil's successful ethanol program serves as a blueprint for Nigeria's own state-supported initiatives. Both countries are actively cooperating on the matter. Earlier, China also signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with China to promote the production of cassava-ethanol. A first investment by a Chinese firm has been made in the sector (earlier post).
Article continues
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
EU votes in favor of national bans on GMOs, overrules Commission
European environment ministers, united in the Environment Council have successfully fought back and swept away a proposal by the Commission to force Austria to lift its ban on two GMO-maize varieties (a result of the WTO-decision). Environmental groups have applauded the decision. The ministers' vote means that EU member-states' sovereign right to ban GMOs is upheld.
A ruling by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) stated that Austria's ban on genetically modified organisms, broke international trade laws. The ruling did not specifically forbid GMO bans, but judged that Austria had not undertaken the obligatory risk assessments according to WTO law. The UN Biosafety Protocol, ratified by all EU member states allows countries to ban GMOs if there is no certainty about their risk. But the WTO does not respect this Protocol, as the complainants in the trade dispute, namely the US, Canada and Argentina, have not ratified it.
The Commission wanted to force Austria to lift its ban on two types of genetically modified maize, MON 810 and T 25, in order to conform to WTO rules. This is the second attempt by the Commission to force member states to drop their national GMO bans since June 2005. And for the second time it loses the battle against a united Council.
The Council was almost unanimous in voting down the Commission's proposal by qualified majority on 18 December 2006, with only the Czech Republic, The Netherlands, the UK and Sweden opposed:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: genetically modified organisms :: GMOs :: corn :: biosafety :: US :: Canada :: WTO :: EU ::
Austrian Environment Minister Josef Pröll said: "This is a very strong signal by the Council for the Commission to reassess its policy [on GMOs]."
But the Council argued that, due to different agricultural and regional ecological characteristics, a temporary ban of the two GMOs was justified.
Positions
The Commission says it is now “weighing the options” after the vote in the Council. It further states it will “carefully consider the legal and scientific bases that would underpin any further proposals.”
Green MEP Hiltrud Breyer welcomed the Council decision. She said it was absurd of the Commission to act like this in face of problems with coexistence and unexplained health and environmental damage. She added that due to the current findings it was negligent to admit the genetically modified maize MON810 into the EU at all.
GMO campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, Helen Holder said: "This is a major defeat for the biotech industry and their friends in the Commission. Every country must have the democratic right to protect its citizens and environment. Neither the Commission nor the WTO should be allowed to force Europeans to eat genetically modified foods."
Martina Holbach, policy adviser on GMOs at Greenpeace stated: "EU environment ministers should be congratulated for defending the environment and consumer protection against US trade interests and commercial pressures." She added: "The Commission should drop plans to pursue similar action against Greece and Hungary unless it wants further humiliation."
Next steps
The Commission can now either withdraw its proposal and redraft it or appeal the Council's decision at the European Court of Justice, a process that would take several years.
More information:
EU official documents
Council: Environment Council Meeting (*pdf; press release) (18 December 2006)
Council: Environment Council Conclusions (18 December 2006)
Council: Environment Council background note (*pdf) (13 December 2006)
EU Actors positions
Friends of the Earth Europe: EU votes to defy WTO ruling on GM foods (press release) (18 December 2006)
Greenpeace European Unit: Five Reasons to support Austria's GMO bans (*pdf) (18 December 2006)
Press articles
Reuters: EU upholds Austria's sovereign right to ban GMOs (18 December 2006)
New York Law Journal: EU Rejects Appeal on Biotech Crops (19 December 2006)
Die Presse: Österreich "rettet" Verbot (19 December 2006)
Manager Magazin: EU-Minister unterstützen Wiens Importverbot für Gen-Mais (18 December 2006)
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