Bioenergy investors invade Africa, tackles food security

Head of NEPAD Energy Programme, Professor Mosad Elmissiry

A two-day bioenergy symposium brought together the experts and bio-energy investors to Johannesburg city in South Africa to deliberate on exploration of the continent’s resources by bioenergy industry for better energy and food security.

The bioenergy symposium hosted by the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) discussed ways of tapping into Africa’s resources in a bid to produce clean energy fuels.

The Energy Programme Head, at NEPAD, Prof. Mosad Elmissiry said NEPAD’ objective is to drive bioenergy programmatic activities and see real results that NEPAD is a result-oriented organisation.

The symposium also sees to the review of conditions, criteria and operation model to set-up Incubator Fund.

Also speaking about the outcome of the symposium, the Project Team leader of BizClim, Gavin Maxwell said Africa needs a solution that encourages enterprise and rewards work.

“This needs both public and private investment harnessed and distributed through a trusted channel, and that is the idea role for the Bio-Enterprise Incubator Fund,” Gavin explained.

He added that as BizClim is a European Union Project providing technical assistance for improving the business climate in Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean, it has the interest of Africa at heart to be part of the symposium.

NEPAD boss, Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki told participants to think radically on how to forge strong partnerships which could tackle developmental challenges in the continent as NEPAD’s role is to ensure the implementations of decisions are taken on energy.

Equally commenting, Ms. Nomfundo Mthembu of Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), says “Their approach is commendable as it involves a wide variety of delegates from the Bioenergy community. Unlike other development approaches, this approach is a “bottom-up” approach which is mostly guaranteed to achieve a higher level of success.”

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NEPAD warns of food shortage

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has warned of food shortage on the continent, saying Africa is the most prone to food insecurity.

NEPAD revealed to NaijaAgroNet in a press statement that Africa needs energy security in order to get out of poverty and achieve food security.

Speaking at a workshop on linking bioenergy and food security in Africa recently, the chief executive officer, NEPAD, Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki said transformation in energy generation and services is necessary to achieve food security in Africa.

Also, experts at the workshop agreed that African countries have to progressively move away from the use of fossil fuels and increase the share of renewable energy sources in their total energy mix.

Other energy highlighted by the experts include solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal; that bioenergy would play a major role in the coming decades on the continent.

Prof. Emile Van Zyl of the University of Stellenbosch said Africa has the potential to be a major player alongside Brazil in the biofuels trade if it applies modern technology as Africa produces 606 million litres of biofuels equivalent of 2 per cent of the global trade with South Africa alone accounting for more than half of the total output.

 NaijaAgroNet further gathered that the technical arm of the African Union (AU) Commission, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency has a vision to give 35 per cent of African population access to energy in the next 20 years.

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