ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia said on Monday it planned to produce biofuels to cut high oil import bills, but dismissed fears the strategy could hit food production in a country suffering a severe drought.
Some 4.5 million Ethiopians need emergency food aid due to failed rains and high food prices, reviving grim memories of the country’s 1984-1985 famine, which killed more than 1 million.
But the government also faces an annual fuel bill of up to $900 million, and aims to reduce that over time using biofuels.
“There is no shortage of agriculture land in Ethiopia for food production,” Melis Teka, coordinator of biofuel development in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, told Reuters.
“We have up to 23 million hectares which could be developed both for crops and biofuel. Biofuel plants are being developed on arid and barren land not suitable for food production.”
The government says it could make one billion litres of ethanol a year from four state-run sugar estates, and has also issued 37 licences to private investors to set up biofuel plants. The country also plans to produce biofuel from jatropha, castor beans and oil palm plantations.
“As the country accelerates its economic development, the demand for petroleum is anticipated to increase,” Melis said.
“The development of biofuel is expected to be an alternative source of energy to meet the anticipated demand.”
-Reuters
Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse; Editing by Daniel Wallis
FORUM | 6 Comments
That would be the right thing to do. But, it would never happen under Weyane watch unless the West decides to do it to prove a sisnister point that Weyane can indeed do things! They do indeed do thgs alright. They kill people – that is what they do.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:19 PM
The author of that article has no idea of agriculture. Plants are environment specific. Low land crops do not grow in highland. Most oil crops grow in erid and dry climatic areas. The highlands can be used to grow edible crops. There is no problem in diversified agriculture.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:23 PM
The hypocrite woyanne leadership is on crisis which they can not get the hell out of, they are directing to there demise. Yemetebelaw yelat yemetekenanebew amarat.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:16 PM
“Yemtibelaw yelat…..”
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June 9th, 2008 at 8:47 PM
Bragging on emptiness
Didn’t they tell us that they are going to export electricity to neighboring countries: Sudan, Djibouti, and Kenya? That was a couple of month ago. Now what happened? There is an acute electricity in Ethiopia, including the Capital.
And now they come up with Bio-fuel? They like to play game with Diaspora, because diaspora is Ethio-fanatics. They (the diaspora) couldn’t think critically because they blinded with the “Wrong love” of Ethiopia.
More funny news? Two days ago, I watched Ethiopian TV about the annual meeting of Ethiopian Space Science society. What a joke! What an empty bragging!
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June 9th, 2008 at 11:36 PM
Let us feed our selves first,then we can talk about energy.
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June 10th, 2008 at 7:52 AM