Nigeria, Uganda, and Angola should set their sights on biofuels, according to Frost & Sullivan analyst Mani James.
“Sub-Saharan Africa represents a potentially lucrative market for the development, growth and use of biofuel owing to its suitable climatic conditions, vast arable land for feedstock production and the need for African countries to reduce their fuel import bills,” notes James. “The production of feedstocks and biofuel would improve the agriculture sector which would, in turn, promote employment and wealth creation of these communities.”
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, entitled “Strategic Opportunities for the Biofuel Industry in Key Sub-Saharan African Countries,” finds that while the market is still in its development stage, there is extensive land available for biofuel feedstock production. Expansion of the agricultural sector to include crop production for biofuels has, however, been hampered by the lack of biofuel policies, limited resources dedicated to the agricultural sector, declining agricultural production, and climate change.
The Sub Saharan region has some of the poorest communities in the world, but the agriculture industry is already tuning up to utilize biofuels. Frost & Sullivan said that if it was properly managed, the controversial Fuel vs. Food debate would no longer be an issue.
Nigeria, Uganda, and Angola have a total of 245.72 million hectares of potential arable land available, of which currently only 16.4% is cultivated. Therefore, sufficient land is available for the production of feedstock such as sugar cane, cassava, sweet sorghum, palm oil, and jatropha.
The countries’ biofuel industries will depend on political and economic stability, government policies, and investment in the transport, energy, and the agricultural sectors.