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Govt yet to decide on production of biofuel
2008-05-13 09:26:09
By Gadiosa Lamtey
The government has said it is yet to decide whether to sanction the local production and consumption of biofuel or continue using other sources of energy.
Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives deputy minister David Mathayo told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the government was preparing a policy on biofuel production and how much land to allocate for the purpose.
He said the government would exercise the maximum on the process ``lest posterity is denied access to land on which the survival of humankind so heavily depends``.
Mathayo made the remarks shortly after opening a forum on the development of agriculture and food industry innovation in Africa.
He said the government would make its decision public at the end of this year after a thorough research to see how the country would benefit from biofuel, particularly by keeping food crises at bay.
``Investors have been coming and asking for land for biofuel production. It is a good idea and the investment will create job opportunities and improve the economy through the sale of the fuel,`` noted the minister.
However, he warned: ``These benefits notwithstanding, we must be careful about our food security. We should not let biofuel production be done in areas suitable for food production.``
He said many African countries were facing food problems, while there was competition in the world in cultivating biofuel crops rather than selling food to needy countries.
``Food security is now a pressing issue everywhere, with millions of poor people now spending a greater share of their meagre incomes on basic staples,`` Mathayo noted further.
He called on the forum to facilitate learning on key practices and policies “that can enable or hinder innovation and the development of technology in agriculture, the food industry, rural energy and physical environment``.
He said Tanzania was in great need of education for
farmers, particularly on the importance of using quality seeds and fertiliser.
“The government will have trained 5,000 extension officers by the end of 2011, which means at least one for every ward, specifically to educate and sensitise farmers on new farming methods like the use of tractors.
John Mclntire, the World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi, meanwhile said increasing world food prices and the problems with food security facing many countries made it all the more important ``to think in the medium and long terms on how to increase agricultural productivity in Africa``.
``Improving agricultural innovation in Africa is an important avenue to improve food security. Agriculture continues to be a fundamental instrument for sustainable development and poverty reduction,`` he said, adding that agriculture was the largest economic activity in the private sector in Africa.
Danish Ambassador Bjarne Sorensen told the forum his government would prepare a meeting to discuss the challenges and prospects of competition in world biofuel production ``which is already affecting food prices in Africa``.
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