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Bio fuels - SADC's answer to black-outs?
Southern Africa Trust
February 26, 2008

http://www.southernafricatrust.org/newsletter/feb/Partners.html

With the intermittent power issues faced by southern Africa, the idea of bio fuel production is one that has sparked much interest and debate in the region as a form of renewable energy that might put less pressure on conventional energy sources.

The Southern Africa Trust supports a project entitled, "Impact of bio- fuels on food security, trade and environmental sustainability within the small scale farmer sector of the SADC region", which is building the capacity of civil society organisations and would-be bio-fuel farmers to understand all the aspects of bio-fuel production. The ultimate goal is to ensure that civil society and bio-fuel farmers play a role in the policy development processes that will govern the region's bio fuel industry as well as for them to give informed recommendations to these processes.

The project also aims to assess the impact of bio-fuels on food security, trade and the environment in the light of concerns that bio-fuel production may reduce the land available for food production and find workable solutions that allow for sustainable production of food and renewable energy.

The project will run for a year, beginning in September 2007 and will end in August 2008. It will cover nine countries in the region, namely: Botswana; Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; South Africa; Swaziland; Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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