Energy firms offer sugarcane, cassava growers market opportunity

Dar es Salaam. Energy companies have disclosed that farmers cultivating crops such as cassava, sugarcane and sugar beetroot have a market opportunity for producing ethanol products that are blended with petrol (EPB).

Praj Industries Limited head of Business Development-Africa Makarand Joshi made this statement while on a media visit in Pune, India, to gather information about alternative energy sources.

According to him, an integrated ethanol biorefinery opens up new markets for agricultural products, builds a value chain and lowers foreign exchange expenses associated with the import of energy fuels.

In response to the growing need for transportation fuel, Mr Joshi defined bio-mobility as a carbon-neutral, sustainable transportation fuel made from biological resources.

Explaining, he mentioned how biomobility in transportation reduces carbon footprints and how the transportation industry is the primary source of rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are a major source of pollution in the environment and a huge health risk.

He said that ethanol production could address Africa’s problems with food security, employment possibilities in rural areas, skills and knowledge, as well as the energy imbalance between supply and demand, the growth of the rural economy, high import costs, and currency shortages.

“Total energy usage in Africa is envisaged to rise by 40 to 60 percent by 2030. While population will increase to 1.7 billion in the same year, by 2023, vehicle fleets will double, and Africa’s oil and gas consumption is predicted to increase by 30 to 45 percent by 2050,” he said.

He explained further that Africa’s liquid demand, driven by transportation and chemicals, will grow by 20 to 30 percent as emerging economies advance.

He added that kerosene, or biomass fuel, is used for cooking by between 700 and 800 million people worldwide, and in the top 40 to 50 cities in Africa, the market for cooking fuel is valued at $20 billion.

“A typical household spends about $25 per month on cooking fuel,” he said.

In another development, the President of Jaywant Sugars Ltd., Charudatta Deshpande, told journalists from Tanzania in Maharashtra that ethanol is the game changer for the nation and the sugar sector.

Through the introduction of such technologies, sugar factories are likely to be called energy-producing units.

He stated that by converting extra sugarcane juice or syrup into ethanol for the production of Ethanol Blended Petrol (EPB), sugar companies have the chance to maximise profits, create jobs locally, and guarantee markets for sugarcane growers.

“India is aiming to achieve energy security and transition towards a low-carbon economy, which is critical for a growing nation like India,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited’s chief general manager, Anurag Saraogi, said the India 2018 National Policy on Bio-fuels has an indicative target of 20 percent blending of ethanol in petrol and 5 percent blending of biodiesel in diesel by 2030.

“In 2018, they used heavy molasses, corn cassava, sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, and damaged food grains like wheat and broken rice to produce ethanol for blending with petrol,” he said.

He noted that in 2020 they would use surplus rice and maize.