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saungwemepw
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| Joined: | Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 1 |
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 09:04 am |
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 Hie guys how do you rate the potential of Africa as a producer of Biofuel in future, what factors can we consider to be critical in this regard if africa is going to be a leader in biofuel production. Or we should we not invest anything as this herald a band wagon approach now that everyone is doing it.
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lstrydom
Administrator
| Joined: | Thu May 4th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 17 |
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Posted: Thu Apr 19th, 2007 08:12 am |
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For me the potential is unquestionable, environment, land, market access (in certain countries) are very good, but the biggest problem in Africa is that to make it work you need to go for rather large scale, and getting finance for Africa is very tough. As a matter of fact I am always on the lookout for credible investors for African projects. But if you can overcome that bridge then I believe Africa is the way to go.
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cejab
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| Joined: | Thu Oct 19th, 2006 |
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Posted: Thu May 17th, 2007 05:15 pm |
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| I quite agree with you. But i strongly believe that Africa is biofuels future, if well implemented.
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i-maconi
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| Joined: | Tue Jun 5th, 2007 |
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Posted: Wed Jun 6th, 2007 12:31 am |
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| Africa will be biodiesels future.Especially the West Africa. Take for instance Nigeria where most businesses and industries run on petroleum diesel despite its high cost bcos of electricity problems that's been going on for as long as i can remember. Diesel merchants are making a lot of money from this. Bio diesel will turn the tables!
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Ryan
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| Joined: | Mon Aug 13th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 4 |
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Posted: Mon Aug 13th, 2007 11:03 pm |
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Hi all
Im Looking into setting up a Jatropha plantation in central Zambia. On paper growing 1000 ha myself, and having outgrowers growing another 1000ha everything looks good, however as usual one never knows what will happen in the field until one tries!
Africa is almost certainly the place to invest in bio fuels. However there are a few main hurdles.
The competition between food and oil crops, using a product like soya for fuel, when it could be feeding families is fine in a good year, but will become an emotional and political nightmare in dry years.
land clearing; there are vast areas of pristine bush land, these will have to be cleared before the jartopha can be planted, how will this coexist with Eco friendly farming? by cutting down natural forest could the farm still claim carbon credits?
Ive come across a few companies with wonderful claims of how much Jatropha they will be producing, next year, their yield estimates are often wishful thinking, time lines adapted to suit the cash flow or they are trying to sell processing equipment that a school boy could produce in the back yard with pocket money! As always be very careful who you invest with.
On the positive side, land is cheap, the diesel price in Zambia averages around US$ 1.25 a litre! with the production cost of biodiesel at around US$ 0.30 a litre. Labour is cheap, hard working and desperate for a job so the more people you can employ the better for the whole community.
Ryan
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Torouwura
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| Joined: | Tue Jun 19th, 2007 |
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Posted: Fri Aug 17th, 2007 11:04 am |
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I live in Ghana where we have over 16.5 million hectares of excellnt land to do this project.I have spoken to Indian experts in this field of biofuels and have gained good knowledge in this regard.But we have a problem which is basically funds.Now I have started a nursery of over a million seedlings to supply and do my own Jatropha plantation.
I do not have any problem at all aquiring 1000s of hectares of land.But Investors will tell you to give the land title to them,which is not part of our traditional land tenure system.We have a very simple system where you take the land for some number of years,document that aspect with the Chiefs and then you use it for the same purpose.
After harvest,you give some token percentage to them.If western Investors will understand this concept,then we can do this project across West Africa.
The land is ok.The rainfall partern can support Jatropha for decades.The species I have picked for my Nursery can yield well over 12 kilos per tree per annum.There is multiple harvest per year and this is very promising.
Torouwura,Ghana.
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trophaja_wimar
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 22nd, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 36 |
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Posted: Thu Oct 25th, 2007 02:46 pm |
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I have very clear suggestion, to anyobody suggesting that planting jatropha is financially attractive business: let he/she plant them by their own money, process them to produce biodiesel, and sell the product locally.
Be forewarned, if he/she is only talking about how financially attractive is jatropha cultivation business, but at the end of the day, he/she only want to sell seedlings or other equipment. It is a clear indication that jatropha cultivation business is very risky and unattractive business at al.
Good businessman/woman never let anybody else having the good portion of the business. Only the risks are to be spread to other, unwary investors. And making you planting jatropha is part of the risk "sharing". They get the real profit, while you have to contend with "dreamed" profit.
Ryan wrote:
Hi all
Im Looking into setting up a Jatropha plantation in central Zambia. On paper growing 1000 ha myself, and having outgrowers growing another 1000ha everything looks good, however as usual one never knows what will happen in the field until one tries!
Africa is almost certainly the place to invest in bio fuels. However there are a few main hurdles.
The competition between food and oil crops, using a product like soya for fuel, when it could be feeding families is fine in a good year, but will become an emotional and political nightmare in dry years.
land clearing; there are vast areas of pristine bush land, these will have to be cleared before the jartopha can be planted, how will this coexist with Eco friendly farming? by cutting down natural forest could the farm still claim carbon credits?
Ive come across a few companies with wonderful claims of how much Jatropha they will be producing, next year, their yield estimates are often wishful thinking, time lines adapted to suit the cash flow or they are trying to sell processing equipment that a school boy could produce in the back yard with pocket money! As always be very careful who you invest with.
On the positive side, land is cheap, the diesel price in Zambia averages around US$ 1.25 a litre! with the production cost of biodiesel at around US$ 0.30 a litre. Labour is cheap, hard working and desperate for a job so the more people you can employ the better for the whole community.
Ryan
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Torouwura
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| Joined: | Tue Jun 19th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: Thu Oct 25th, 2007 03:19 pm |
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I do not share your pessimistic stands on this issue.We all know that starting any business is a Risk and no one disputes that.But to be conclusive that Jatropha is unattractive to do is misleading.
Fact is you might have had very scanty data/info on this topic and thus your submission was an "Over-sweeping Generalisation".Irrespective of this negative position,some of us will not give up since your claim cannot be scientifically substantiated.Take time to research on this issue and purge yourself of this unpardonable discripancies.
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trophaja_wimar
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 22nd, 2007 |
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Posted: Fri Oct 26th, 2007 05:29 am |
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Sure,
If it's your own money, do it as you please. My suggestion is not for everyone. New business always having risks, it's true. Only clever person making benefit-cost comparison, before making a decision.
On the contrary, I have enough data to give me courage to say what I think have to say. I even planted more than 2000 jatropha trees.
Data that jatropha yield can reach as high as 8-10 tonnes/ha/yr are, strangely, only came from India sources. Even D-1 is still hoping (and God may or may not grant their hope) that the yield eventually reach 5 tonnes during the 5-6 years age.
Can you give calculation to dispel my claim that jatropha business is not profitable business? I have mine. Let's make a comparation.
There are two sides of the coin to calculate profitability. Cost and revenue. Have a lower cost at same revenue, or higher renevue at same cost, and you get profit. My calcluation shows, jatropha cost is high, while the revenue is paltry.
Torouwura wrote:
I do not share your pessimistic stands on this issue.We all know that starting any business is a Risk and no one disputes that.But to be conclusive that Jatropha is unattractive to do is misleading.
Fact is you might have had very scanty data/info on this topic and thus your submission was an "Over-sweeping Generalisation".Irrespective of this negative position,some of us will not give up since your claim cannot be scientifically substantiated.Take time to research on this issue and purge yourself of this unpardonable discripancies.
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Khrisna
Member
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Posted: Wed Oct 31st, 2007 09:47 pm |
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Tropaja,
I am interesting with your comments. We are at the forum, we try to exchange knowledge and the first priority, we try to reduce pollutant.
If you do biz, maybe...it will be no gain. My opinion, the costs are variable and the standards of costing each countries are different. So..which country you live ?
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jatropha2
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| Joined: | Sun Nov 11th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 4 |
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Posted: Sun Nov 18th, 2007 06:58 pm |
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Dear Trophaja ...
We are all here to learn about jatropha. If you sound to have more experience than most of us, so teach us and show us where the benefit and disbenefit of jatropha are ... and teach us how to overcome the problems exist in jatropha cultivation ....
OR you might be paid by multinational oil company (MNOC) to discourage the cultivation of jatropha or other biodiesel sources, prevent them to spread around the world .. so the world have to depend on fossile fuels, depend on MNOCs and depend on certain rich countries.
Your comment of discouraging people on jatropha investment made me mad. Are you mr. ww ?? just courious ... In the past I used to work for MNOCs, so I know how they thinks of competition.
The problem why jatropha is not economic is because the price of seed is too low. How can the price of seed now is same as the price of seed couple years ago where the price of fossil fuel still low. I repeat my self that it is totally wrong if jatropha is for price, jatropha is for our future, for the future of the world, for the future of our environment and for preventing global warming.
Until several years ago, there were never any tornado in Indonesia, or if any it was mild storms only in several districts, so it was save if people made large advertisement board. NOW there are storms and tornadoes every where on every climate change and many large adv board were tumbled down by tornado, houses damaged by strong storms. Those are all because of the increase of global warming, because we burn more and more fossil fuels.
Now it is a starting point of people movement, to start using renewable and clean energy sources for the shake of the world, for the shake of environment and for the shake of themself, while on the other aspects increase people income.
We have to encourage the government of each country, to subsidy the biofuel instead of subsidying fossil fuel. Subsidying biodiesel, the subsidy ultimately will go to poor people's pockets increasing their income and inreasing their wealth, improving our environment and saving our only planet. While subsidying fossil fuels, the subsidy will untimately go to rich people and rich countries only, in other aspects destroying our world and environment.
Good luck guys ... may God bless all of us, bless our effort to increase people's income and to save our environment and planet.
Best Regards,
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Alec
Member
| Joined: | Mon Nov 26th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 2 |
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Posted: Wed Nov 28th, 2007 04:34 pm |
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To those who seriouse about Jatropha!
There are a lot of stories about Jatropha cultivation, some of them are true and some are not.
First of all cost of seeds will fluctuate and probably go up as the demand will grow, but what we should be talking about the cost of saplings... that cost is unproportionally higher than cost of seeds. The solution to this cost concern is to have a nursery at each large commercial Jatropha plantation, I mean 1000 hectares and more. When you go for a nursery you would need to be aware that diffrent seeds have diffrent germination percentage and when you buy seeds make sure seller garanties no less than 80%. The bottom line is tha without nursery you can't start cost effectively, just simple math.... you need 2,500,000 samplings per 1000 hectares...
Sorry need to run will try to share some other important findings from our 20 Hectares 2 years old pilot Jatropha plantation.
Best wishes Alec
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jatro
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| Joined: | Wed Mar 12th, 2008 |
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Posted: Sat Mar 15th, 2008 09:40 pm |
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Hi,
I am working on a large scale plantation of Jatropha in DRCongo. I am interested in Torouwura's message on nurseries in Africa. I am interested in buying seedlings and seeds, and also in visiting plantations and nurseries to compare notes.
Please let me know if you have contacts for me,
Biofuels is the future!
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ngaahmoses
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| Joined: | Tue Apr 8th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 2 |
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Posted: Tue Apr 8th, 2008 09:29 am |
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The most critical factor for bio-fuel production in Africa is national biofuel policy frameworks as we are already aware of the huge potentials for biofuel that Africa has. Ngaahmoses@gmail.com. Adviser bioenergy production, the Bellona Foundation, Norway. http://www.bellona.no
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peepobee
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 14th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: Sat Apr 19th, 2008 09:37 am |
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| Hm!! I agree with your thoughts in principles, but how can it be well implemented when we do not have the technolgy and the manpower? I suggest we start using our local professors to be more involved in research and developments (R&D) in the capacities of chief scientist in planned-built incubators.
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ngaahmoses
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| Joined: | Tue Apr 8th, 2008 |
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Posted: Sat Apr 19th, 2008 10:04 pm |
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Yes; technology and financial wise we may be lacking. But think also that industrialised countries develop the capacities that they are best in and import those that they are not good in. This could be true for Africa. For instance, our economies depend on agriculture. Cultivation of biofuel crops is an agricultural endeavour ; which we have good capacities in contrary to your assertions. We have the land also, as well as the best climate for growing bioenergy crops. Let's therefore make use of the land, the labour, the climate, and then seek for financiers to assist us afford necessary machineries. Refering to my earlier message, our greatest obstacle to development is ourselves; through lack of appropriate policies, laws that are weakened by corruption, political elites that want to grab everything at the expense of the majority.
So my country man, be informed that we have necessary manpower in Africa. I for once live in Europe and work on developing bio-fuel projects in Africa for possible investors and I am very sure that there are a good number of us Africans with the necessary expertise.
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peepobee
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 14th, 2008 |
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Posted: Sun Apr 20th, 2008 05:55 pm |
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| Dear ngaahmoses, your points were very potent and really frank. Many others like you, are out there with the same expertise but still without the main ingredients- manpower / finance. Remember that in the 1960's Africa contributed to almost 9% of the world's produce market, however 80% of these produce went to the same destination - EU, who determines the prices they will pay and not what the country wants. Bio-diesel is today a big-deal, a multi-billion dollars market - Africa needs bold direction towards educatiing its citizens to uphold their glorified destiny with high morales and dedication, this is the first step of overpowering greed, corruption and nepotism which are the canker-worms eating deep into the African's multi-cultural societies. There will always be good clauses to degrade African's efforts in the international arena, so all we need bio-diese/fuel is to be self-sufficient and thus reduce cost of importing fossil oil,rocketing so high in prices to enable conserve financials. But for Africa to be a major player and exporter of bio-diesel/fuel, for now needs manpower and finance which are very vital to determine the project take-off, but are both "foreign-agent"
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peepobee
Member
| Joined: | Mon Apr 14th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: Sun Apr 20th, 2008 05:55 pm |
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| Dear ngaahmoses, your points were very potent and really frank. Many others like you, are out there with the same expertise but still without the main ingredients- manpower / finance. Remember that in the 1960's Africa contributed to almost 9% of the world's produce market, however 80% of these produce went to the same destination - EU, who determines the prices they will pay and not what the country wants. Bio-diesel is today a big-deal, a multi-billion dollars market - Africa needs bold direction towards educatiing its citizens to uphold their glorified destiny with high morales and dedication, this is the first step of overpowering greed, corruption and nepotism which are the canker-worms eating deep into the African's multi-cultural societies. There will always be good clauses to degrade African's efforts in the international arena, so all we need bio-diese/fuel is to be self-sufficient and thus reduce cost of importing fossil oil,rocketing so high in prices to enable conserve financials. But for Africa to be a major player and exporter of bio-diesel/fuel, for now needs manpower and finance which are very vital to determine the project take-off, but are both "foreign-agent"
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