New publication on biofuel production in Tanzania

A new publication is the most recent output of TNRF's applied research study on the biofuels sector. The book, titled Biofuels, land access and rural livelihoods in Tanzania, is the latest in a series of publications by the International Institute for Environment and Development that looks at land tenure and resource access in Africa. The study documents the experiences of communities with three types of biofuel crops -- sugarcane, jatropha and palm -- in four regions, and analyzes the benefits these communities earn from plantation and small holder crop production.

To download the study please link to: http://www.tnrf.org/node/11163

Abstract:

"In recent years, biofuels have rapidly emerged as a major issue for agricultural development, energy policy, and natural resource management. Growing demand for biofuels is being driven by recent high oil prices, energy security concerns, and global climate change. In Africa, there is growing interest from foreign private investors in establishing biofuel projects. For Tanzania, biofuel production has the potential to provide a substitute for costly oil imports (currently US$ 1.3-1.6 billion per year, 25% of total foreign exchange earnings). Biofuels also have the potential to provide a new source of agricultural income and economic growth in rural areas, and a source of improvements in local infrastructure and broader development. Although many biofuel investments involve large plantations, biofuel production can also be carried out by smallholder farmers as well as through ‘outgrower' or local contracted farmer arrangements".