China recently secured land in the Democratic Republic of Congo roughly the size of Belgium, to set up the world’s largest palm tree plantation for biofuels. In December, Rwanda signed a $250 million investment deal to produce 20 million litres of biodiesel per year from jatropha, a hardy ‘wonder plant’ that can grow in low-quality soil. All over Africa the land grab to plant biofuels is speeding up. Ghana, Rwanda, Angola, Tanzania, Ethiopia – country after country is rushing into production of jatropha, hoping it will bring them foreign currency and cut their dependence on oil imports. But there are also threats: water shortages, evictions of farmers and corruption.
Take Tanzania. In October 2009, the Government reportedly suspended millions of dollars’ worth of biofuel investments. The reason? Growing public outcry over the looming evictions of local farmers. Foreign companies were planting biofuel crops on fertile lands intended for growing food.
