Policy makers in East Africa have begun to focus on the internal production of ethanol and biodiesel. The Kenyan government has joined the alternative energy source campaign by creating a stakeholders’ forum under the Energy Ministry in order to come up with a national policy on bio-energy.
The forum was developed from eight ministries, including agriculture and environment. “There is always a campaign to look for alternative energy sources but the current high international fuel prices have only made the search even more urgent,” says Dr John Mutunga, the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (Kenfap) who also sits in the alternative energy stakeholders’ forum.
The proposal will attempt to promote production of the low-sulfur biofuel by directing attention to oil plants as emerging cash crops. In addition, it will ensure that the cultivation of these crops does not allow the production of excessive competition conventional crops.