The Biofuels Challenge: Britain�s Wheat Production Suffers While Ghana Looks On

The entire world is entangled in a biofuels challenge that doesn�t appear to be resolved anytime soon. Biofuels are being considered as appropriate alternative energy sources as a result of the rising cost of traditional energy sources like oil and coal, but all does not seem to go well with biofuels. The production of biofuels in Britain has reportedly affected the country�s wheat production so much so that it is projected that Britain is likely to become a net importer of wheat for the first time in history. The British National Farmers� Union was reported by The New York Times to have said that in 2009 Britain�s wheat production will suffer a 3.4 million tonnes fall in its wheat production due to decreased yields and lower plantings. The Farmers� Union estimates that the 13.9 million tonnes of wheat production (about 14.9 million US tons) for 2009 will be 3.4 million tonnes lower than the production levels achieved in 2008 and this has been attributed to the increased production of biofuels. According to the report, two new biofuel projects will consumes 2.3 million tonnes of British wheat in 2010. The two biofuels plants worth $800 million will together consume 2.3 million tonnes of feed wheat. One plant said to become the largest wheat refinery in Europe, owned by Enus a bioethanol company backed by Ameraican private equity companies Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings will produce over 400 million litres of bioethanol yearly, while the second to be constructed by energy giant BP, international food and retail group Associated British Foods and DuPont, the American chemicals company will produce 110 million gallons of bioethanol. The situation according to a British blobber, Madsen Pirie, president of the Adam Smith Institute, Britain�s leading free-market economic and social think tank has concluded that �Of all the insanities committed in the name of green politics, one of the most insane is the production of biofuels from food crops.� He added that �In pursuit of increased proportion of energy from renewable sources, governments have realized that wind and solar power cannot make sufficiently large contributions. They have therefore turned to biofuels, a move that hugely delights their farming lobbies.� In Tanzania however, has suspended all biofuel investments in the country. The New York Times again reports that following mounting pressure from farmers and environmental groups citing concerns over food shortages, the Tanzanian government has reportedly suspended all biofuel investments and halted land allocations for biofuel development. The Tanzania government is looking at policy to streamline the biofuels industry in the country. Esther Mfugale, the coordinator of biofuel production for Tanzania�s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, was quoted as saying in an interview with The East African newspaper as saying �The government was asleep. We have to stop and set out clear procedures for biofuel investments.� Large investments have been going on in Tanzania to cultivate Jatropha for biodiesel production. Meanwhile in Ghana, not much is happening despite the fact that the country has a large number of multination and local companies investing in the cultivation of sugarcane and Jatropha for biofuels production. Recently, one of the companies, Biofuel Africa announced the first commercial production of ten tons or about 50 barrels of biodiesel from its plantations in the country. Farmers in some local communities, particularly Yendi, in the north of Ghana have complained about arable land being taken away from them by some of these multinationals for the cultivation of Jatropha, but not much has happened in the country in terms of policy to direct how the biofuels industry goes. In such an unregulated situation, it is likely Ghana�s already poorly resourced agriculture sector will suffer further decline despite government�s claim to support the industry and Ghana�s food production might dwindle.