President's Quarterly: The Fuel Issue
Winter 2008 Volume 1, Issue 1
President's Letter
Greetings and Happy New Year!
It is with great pleasure that I announce the inaugural issue of the World Agricultural Forum's President's Quarterly eNewsletter. Our goal is to keep you informed and at the forefront of emerging issues relative to agricultural development across the globe. Each issue will focus on one of the four pillars of agriculture - food, fuel, fiber or water - and highlight member initiatives, case studies, and news items that reflect each issue's focus. It is our hope that this newsletter is a resource that relays timely and useful information to your organization for current and future projects.
This first issue reflects on fuel and the discussion of biofuels as a sustainable alternative fuel source. You will read about current initiatives in biofuel from Kurt Hoffman of the Shell Foundation and GVEP, and Barclay Forrest of D1 Oils, for the U.K.
At the World Congress in May 2007, the Forum discussed how to make bioenergy a sustainable investment without affecting food supplies. As the debate over "food vs fuel" continues, the WAF will strive to create a balance between arguments that keeps the benefits for both developed and developing countries top of mind.
In 2008, the WAF will venture to Kampala, Uganda for our first African Congress. The agenda was created by Africans for Africans with the desire to create a network of leaders who will drive investing in agriculture as a business in Africa. Mark your calendars for this dynamic meeting, "Africa Meets the World: Creating Prosperity by Investing in Agriculture," scheduled for September 3-5, 2008.
In an effort to continually add value to your WAF membership, we would like to learn more about the individual efforts that poise a great opportunity to reach prosperity through partnership and collaboration. Please provide us with your feedback and case studies as it can only help us to improve this communication tool.
Sincerely,
Ray Cesca
President World Agricultural Forum
Energy for All
Overview
In rural and pre-urban areas, energy is not only scarce, but also expensive. Energy contributes to reducing poverty by increasing food production and consumption, as well as improvements in environment, education and health. Since August of 2002, the Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP) has sought to promote development in these areas, providing greater energy access at affordable prices to low-income populations. Through NGO, agency and small business partnerships, GVEP promotes innovative approaches to increasing energy access.
Strategy
Since its inception, GVEP's core mission has been to set up energy plans in developing countries. Through 2005, GVEP primarily helped developing country governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Its missions assisted in the preparation and implementation of national plans to improve energy access to un-served populations. In addition, smaller programs were launched in Brazil and a few other countries leading to increases in energy connections.
In 2006, GVEP added financial support, capacity building and technical assistance to energy companies in developing countries, such as East and West Africa, Asia and Latin America.
"GVEP's first challenge was evolving from a highly donor-dependent organization into a market driven organization that survives and succeeds the value of services it provides to members, supporters, clients and ultimate its customers," said Kurt Hoffman, Chairman of GVEP. "We still have a very long way to go and are still dependent on the generous support of others but now have a plan in place that will take us steadily into a position of substantial financial self-sufficiency."
To accomplish its goals, the organization has secured a commitment from the Russian Government to provide $30 million in financial support. The funds will help organize energy access funds that will provide small amounts of capital and business development assistance to small-scale energy access service providers in East and West Africa.
"The second challenge is enlarging GVEP's focus from its initial concentration on national planning," said Hoffman. "We will focus on building a grassroots network of partners and products that can be distributed and diffused to un-served populations and make a direct contribution to improving their standard of living."
Results
Since the first energy-poverty workshop held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2002, GVEP has impacted eleven countries in Africa. GVEP's work includes energy and poverty reduction plants, preparing pilot projects, re-orienting existing rural electricity projects and developing business models.
Moving energy-conscious activities into Asia, GVEP has began making a difference in Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines and Vietnam. As a result, funding from major organizations, such as the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), is now possible, helping developing areas fulfill energy needs for all citizens.
Currently, GVEP is rapidly expanding into Latin America influencing Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Peru.
As the organization continues to expand, GVEP aims to create a partner within reach of every un-served community in the developing world. With GVEP's innovation and commitment to serving every world resident, strides will be made toward significantly improving the life of billions of people.
Case Study with Kurt Hoffman
President and CEO of the Shell Foundation and Chairman of GVEP
Agricultural Spotlight - Biofuels & Biofuels
Submitted by D1 Oils. Delivered at the 2007 WAF World Congress
Mentioning biofuels is unfortunately becoming a good way of raising the temperature of a conversation. Strident headlines about disappearing rainforest, orang-utans and high corn prices certainly attract attention, but do not lead to a well-informed debate. We need to stop lumping all biofuels together. There are some that are good and some that are not so good.
Looking towards a world in which climate change will make life more difficult for many, and one in which it will be harder to find food and energy for a growing world population, biofuels have a real contribution to make. Produced responsibly, they are a sustainable energy source that need not take any land needed for food production; they need not cause any environmental degradation; and they have the potential to create jobs where previously there were none. Produced irresponsibly, they can at best offer no benefit and, at worst, have detrimental social and environmental consequences.
Biofuels crops capture the energy of the sun by photosynthesis and the CO2 that is released when they are burned and was extracted from the atmosphere as they grew. To that extent they are carbon neutral. But account also has to be taken of emissions that arise from producing them. The first test of a biofuel is whether it contains significantly more energy than was used to produce it. Perverse agricultural subsidies mean that not all fuels pass this test. Moreover, the traditional raw materials for biofuels are food crops. Growing demand for biofuels may not be the main driver behind the current rise in commodity prices, but depending on your food for a fuel source is unlikely to be either economic or ethical in a world where population is growing.
A new crop that has great potential as a sustainable fuel is Jatropha curcas, a wild tree that is widely distributed in tropical areas and carries a fruit that contains three kernels that can be crushed to give a crude oil suitable for making biodiesel. The oil is not edible and was used as a purgative in traditional medicine. Jatropha can be cultivated and pruned to a manageable height for the fruit to be picked by hand. This has the enormous additional advantage of creating jobs in areas where previously there were none. Oil yields per hectare for uncultivated, wild jatropha are estimated to be in the region of 1.7 tons of oil per hectare, above average yields for rapeseed (1.5 tonnes) and soya (0.5 tonnes).
D1 Oils plc is a UK-based biodiesel company that is pioneering the commercial production of Jatropha curcas. We have established the first global plant science program for the development of the crop, and our breeding activities have already produced a first selected seed that we believe is capable of delivering up to 2.7 tons of oil per hectare. We have to date planted almost 200,000 hectares of jatropha in Southern Africa, India and South East Asia. We recently established a global joint venture with BP to plant up to a million hectares of jatropha worldwide over the next four years.
We estimate that at least one job is created per hectare of jatropha planting, which already makes our worldwide planting operations a major employer. Far from bringing poverty, biofuels can offer people their first opportunity of making a living. They could also make some developing tropical countries self-sufficient in vehicle fuel.
One of the common arguments used against biofuels is that there is not enough agricultural land available for them to make a real difference. This argument falls if the biofuel is derived from crops grown on marginal land. Jatropha has the advantage that it can tolerate poorer, drier soils that are unsuitable for other crops. It does not thrive in the same conditions as rainforest. Planting jatropha can also enable farmers to plant additional food crops on otherwise barren land, as the spreading roots stabilize the soil and, assist with moisture retention. Farmers working with D1 in Tamil Nadu in India are successfully intercropping jatropha with food crops such as sunflower and millet, while the trees are maturing.
The Indian Government estimates that up to 30 percent of the 60m hectares in India, classified as waste or marginal land, could be suitable for planting jatropha. If yields of two tons of oil per hectare can be achieved from such planting, India could meet the whole of its current diesel demand of 43m tons. This would be a major benefit for the Indian economy.
The biofuels industry is a young one and its liquids are not yet price competitive with mineral oils. For that reason governments are providing fiscal and regulatory support. In the longer term biofuels cannot rely on this and must become the fuel of choice not only on sustainability but on cost as well. We believe there is every prospect that they will, and that non-food oils such as jatropha will be a key part of the process. As long as we depend on the internal combustion engine, we will need the biofuels to reduce emissions from transport.
Not Just Corn - Jatropha & Cellulosic Biofuel
About Jatropha
Jatropha curcas is a hot topic lately in the area of biofuels. The jatropha plant grows in tropical and subtropical regions. The plant is inedible, so it does not detract from food for people or animals. It is often grown as a hedge by farmers to keep livestock away from edible crops. The jatropha plant is resilient to pests, resistant to drought and can grow in poor soil conditions.
Jatropha seeds can be crushed into oil that can be used as biofuel in essentially one step. To produce a useable biofuel, there is little more to do than crush the jatropha seeds and filter out the clean oil. The simplicity of the conversion process and the tough nature of the plant make jatropha a very realistic possibility as an alternative fuel source.
About Cellulosic Biofuel
Cellulosic biofuels are made from the leaves, stems and stalks of plants. Straw, corn stover and perennial prairie grasses such as switchgrass are just a few examples of the plants researches can transform into cellulosic ethanol. Unlike the ethanol produced from corn or soybeans, cellulosic ethanol uses primarily plant waste, which makes it a more sustainable and less expensive fuel alternative to produce domestically. Cellulosic ethanol has also shown to have a net energy content that is three times higher than corn ethanol, while emitting a low net level of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas emission reductions for cellulosic ethanol has been recorded at levels 80% better than those for gasoline, compared to 20 to 30% reductions for corn ethanol. Shell Oil predicts, "the global market for biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol will grow to exceed $10 billion by 2012." It is likely to substitute for fossil fuels as the primary transportation energy carrier.
In the News: WAF on Africa
United Press International - Analysis: Can Agriculture Save Africa?
New Vision - Uganda to host global agricultural forum
Voice of America
In late summer, the World Agricultural Forum participated in a five-part series about Agriculture development in Africa with Voice of America radio. World Agricultural Forum members Mohamed Ait Kadi, President of the General Council of Agricultural Development; Adama Gaye, Group Head Corporate Affairs for Government and Investor Relations of Ecobank; Julie Howard, Executive Director of the Partnership to End Hnger in Africa; Hon. Hilary Onek, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries for the Republic of Uganda; and Dr. George Chaponda, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development for the Republic of Malawi, spoke about their individual efforts to promote sustainability through agriculture in Africa.
WAF Updates
For the first time in history, the World Agricultural Forum's (WAF) 2009 World Congress will take place outside of the United States and will be hosted by the Republic of Uganda. Due to overwhelming interest for what was supposed to be a regional meeting the event evolved into the WAF's 2009 World Congress, "Africa Meets the World: Creating Prosperity By Investing in Agriculture." The 2009 World Congress, scheduled for February 24-26, 2009 in Kampala, Uganda will conclude with the introduction of the WAF Task Force on Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in Africa - Entrepreneurship and Community Development on February 27, 2009.
"The world's attention to Africa continues to grow, particularly with humanitarian concerns," said the Right Honorable James Bolger, ONZ, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Ambassador to the United States, and current chairman of the World Agricultural Forum Advisory Board. "However, with the hundreds of institutions, organizations and foundations offering aid, several Africans have told us that they can barely keep up with all those who approach them. Looking beyond Africa's agricultural potential, the need for collaboration among these various groups will propel initiatives for higher education, encouraging entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs will create small businesses, providing more employment opportunities and eventually cultivating an environment for economic growth."
The WAF Task Force on Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in Africa is a joint effort with the 2007 Global Consortium of Higher Education and Research for Agriculture (GCHERA), the U.S. National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) and Sustainability, Education and the Management of Change in the Tropics (SEMSIT), Additionally, individual academic institutions from Europe, the United States and Asia will be included in this initiative.
"The growth of the World Agricultural Forum's Congress in Africa is tremendous and great outcomes are anticipated," said the Honorable Hilary Onek, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries for the Republic of Uganda. "The WAF Task Force on Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in Africa is beneficial component of the 2009 World Congress as it provides an avenue to implement the solutions discussed for making Africa a target for investments for agriculture.
Prior to the introduction of the WAF Task Force on Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in Africa, the 2009 World Congress will convene key players in global agribusiness. The Congress will foster open discussions and bring attention to increasing Africa's ability to attract investments and secure economic sustainability through the continent's raw agricultural resources. Topics, such as the worldwide debate on food vs. fuel will be addressed, as will the production of bio-energy at the village level for use by the village community.
Similarly to previous World Congresses, the 2009 World Congress will bring together an influential group of speakers to include heads of state, policy leaders, economists, corporate CEO's and NGO experts from around the world to discuss the topics and necessary actions that will make a difference in African agriculture today.
About the World Agricultural Forum
The World Agricultural Forum (WAF) is at the forefront of the evolving agricultural industry and it serves as a catalyst for innovation and positive changes in agribusiness. On a global stage, the WAF produces one of the largest biennial gatherings of leaders concerned about the world's growing population and the respective shortages of food, fuel and fiber in both developed and developing nations.
The WAF also conducts regional Congresses that, through the use of reliable and timely information, address emerging trends and key industry issues such as sustainable agriculture, fair trade policies and biotechnology. Its focus is to identify solutions to current problems facing poorer nations, particularly in overcoming hunger and poverty.
Winter 2008 Volume 1, Issue 1
President's Letter
Greetings and Happy New Year!
It is with great pleasure that I announce the inaugural issue of the World Agricultural Forum's President's Quarterly eNewsletter. Our goal is to keep you informed and at the forefront of emerging issues relative to agricultural development across the globe. Each issue will focus on one of the four pillars of agriculture - food, fuel, fiber or water - and highlight member initiatives, case studies, and news items that reflect each issue's focus. It is our hope that this newsletter is a resource that relays timely and useful information to your organization for current and future projects.This first issue reflects on fuel and the discussion of biofuels as a sustainable alternative fuel source. You will read about current initiatives in biofuel from Kurt Hoffman of the Shell Foundation and GVEP, and Barclay Forrest of D1 Oils, for the U.K.
At the World Congress in May 2007, the Forum discussed how to make bioenergy a sustainable investment without affecting food supplies. As the debate over "food vs fuel" continues, the WAF will strive to create a balance between arguments that keeps the benefits for both developed and developing countries top of mind.
In 2008, the WAF will venture to Kampala, Uganda for our first African Congress. The agenda was created by Africans for Africans with the desire to create a network of leaders who will drive investing in agriculture as a business in Africa. Mark your calendars for this dynamic meeting, "Africa Meets the World: Creating Prosperity by Investing in Agriculture," scheduled for September 3-5, 2008.
In an effort to continually add value to your WAF membership, we would like to learn more about the individual efforts that poise a great opportunity to reach prosperity through partnership and collaboration. Please provide us with your feedback and case studies as it can only help us to improve this communication tool.
Sincerely,
Ray Cesca
President World Agricultural Forum
Energy for All
Overview
In rural and pre-urban areas, energy is not only scarce, but also expensive. Energy contributes to reducing poverty by increasing food production and consumption, as well as improvements in environment, education and health. Since August of 2002, the Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP) has sought to promote development in these areas, providing greater energy access at affordable prices to low-income populations. Through NGO, agency and small business partnerships, GVEP promotes innovative approaches to increasing energy access.Strategy
Since its inception, GVEP's core mission has been to set up energy plans in developing countries. Through 2005, GVEP primarily helped developing country governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Its missions assisted in the preparation and implementation of national plans to improve energy access to un-served populations. In addition, smaller programs were launched in Brazil and a few other countries leading to increases in energy connections.
In 2006, GVEP added financial support, capacity building and technical assistance to energy companies in developing countries, such as East and West Africa, Asia and Latin America.
"GVEP's first challenge was evolving from a highly donor-dependent organization into a market driven organization that survives and succeeds the value of services it provides to members, supporters, clients and ultimate its customers," said Kurt Hoffman, Chairman of GVEP. "We still have a very long way to go and are still dependent on the generous support of others but now have a plan in place that will take us steadily into a position of substantial financial self-sufficiency."
To accomplish its goals, the organization has secured a commitment from the Russian Government to provide $30 million in financial support. The funds will help organize energy access funds that will provide small amounts of capital and business development assistance to small-scale energy access service providers in East and West Africa.
"The second challenge is enlarging GVEP's focus from its initial concentration on national planning," said Hoffman. "We will focus on building a grassroots network of partners and products that can be distributed and diffused to un-served populations and make a direct contribution to improving their standard of living."
Results
Since the first energy-poverty workshop held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2002, GVEP has impacted eleven countries in Africa. GVEP's work includes energy and poverty reduction plants, preparing pilot projects, re-orienting existing rural electricity projects and developing business models.
Moving energy-conscious activities into Asia, GVEP has began making a difference in Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines and Vietnam. As a result, funding from major organizations, such as the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), is now possible, helping developing areas fulfill energy needs for all citizens.
Currently, GVEP is rapidly expanding into Latin America influencing Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Peru.
As the organization continues to expand, GVEP aims to create a partner within reach of every un-served community in the developing world. With GVEP's innovation and commitment to serving every world resident, strides will be made toward significantly improving the life of billions of people.
Case Study with Kurt Hoffman
President and CEO of the Shell Foundation and Chairman of GVEP
Agricultural Spotlight - Biofuels & Biofuels
Submitted by D1 Oils. Delivered at the 2007 WAF World Congress
Mentioning biofuels is unfortunately becoming a good way of raising the temperature of a conversation. Strident headlines about disappearing rainforest, orang-utans and high corn prices certainly attract attention, but do not lead to a well-informed debate. We need to stop lumping all biofuels together. There are some that are good and some that are not so good.
Looking towards a world in which climate change will make life more difficult for many, and one in which it will be harder to find food and energy for a growing world population, biofuels have a real contribution to make. Produced responsibly, they are a sustainable energy source that need not take any land needed for food production; they need not cause any environmental degradation; and they have the potential to create jobs where previously there were none. Produced irresponsibly, they can at best offer no benefit and, at worst, have detrimental social and environmental consequences.
Biofuels crops capture the energy of the sun by photosynthesis and the CO2 that is released when they are burned and was extracted from the atmosphere as they grew. To that extent they are carbon neutral. But account also has to be taken of emissions that arise from producing them. The first test of a biofuel is whether it contains significantly more energy than was used to produce it. Perverse agricultural subsidies mean that not all fuels pass this test. Moreover, the traditional raw materials for biofuels are food crops. Growing demand for biofuels may not be the main driver behind the current rise in commodity prices, but depending on your food for a fuel source is unlikely to be either economic or ethical in a world where population is growing.
A new crop that has great potential as a sustainable fuel is Jatropha curcas, a wild tree that is widely distributed in tropical areas and carries a fruit that contains three kernels that can be crushed to give a crude oil suitable for making biodiesel. The oil is not edible and was used as a purgative in traditional medicine. Jatropha can be cultivated and pruned to a manageable height for the fruit to be picked by hand. This has the enormous additional advantage of creating jobs in areas where previously there were none. Oil yields per hectare for uncultivated, wild jatropha are estimated to be in the region of 1.7 tons of oil per hectare, above average yields for rapeseed (1.5 tonnes) and soya (0.5 tonnes).
D1 Oils plc is a UK-based biodiesel company that is pioneering the commercial production of Jatropha curcas. We have established the first global plant science program for the development of the crop, and our breeding activities have already produced a first selected seed that we believe is capable of delivering up to 2.7 tons of oil per hectare. We have to date planted almost 200,000 hectares of jatropha in Southern Africa, India and South East Asia. We recently established a global joint venture with BP to plant up to a million hectares of jatropha worldwide over the next four years.We estimate that at least one job is created per hectare of jatropha planting, which already makes our worldwide planting operations a major employer. Far from bringing poverty, biofuels can offer people their first opportunity of making a living. They could also make some developing tropical countries self-sufficient in vehicle fuel.
One of the common arguments used against biofuels is that there is not enough agricultural land available for them to make a real difference. This argument falls if the biofuel is derived from crops grown on marginal land. Jatropha has the advantage that it can tolerate poorer, drier soils that are unsuitable for other crops. It does not thrive in the same conditions as rainforest. Planting jatropha can also enable farmers to plant additional food crops on otherwise barren land, as the spreading roots stabilize the soil and, assist with moisture retention. Farmers working with D1 in Tamil Nadu in India are successfully intercropping jatropha with food crops such as sunflower and millet, while the trees are maturing.
The Indian Government estimates that up to 30 percent of the 60m hectares in India, classified as waste or marginal land, could be suitable for planting jatropha. If yields of two tons of oil per hectare can be achieved from such planting, India could meet the whole of its current diesel demand of 43m tons. This would be a major benefit for the Indian economy.
The biofuels industry is a young one and its liquids are not yet price competitive with mineral oils. For that reason governments are providing fiscal and regulatory support. In the longer term biofuels cannot rely on this and must become the fuel of choice not only on sustainability but on cost as well. We believe there is every prospect that they will, and that non-food oils such as jatropha will be a key part of the process. As long as we depend on the internal combustion engine, we will need the biofuels to reduce emissions from transport.
Not Just Corn - Jatropha & Cellulosic Biofuel
About Jatropha
Jatropha curcas is a hot topic lately in the area of biofuels. The jatropha plant grows in tropical and subtropical regions. The plant is inedible, so it does not detract from food for people or animals. It is often grown as a hedge by farmers to keep livestock away from edible crops. The jatropha plant is resilient to pests, resistant to drought and can grow in poor soil conditions.
Jatropha seeds can be crushed into oil that can be used as biofuel in essentially one step. To produce a useable biofuel, there is little more to do than crush the jatropha seeds and filter out the clean oil. The simplicity of the conversion process and the tough nature of the plant make jatropha a very realistic possibility as an alternative fuel source.
About Cellulosic Biofuel
Cellulosic biofuels are made from the leaves, stems and stalks of plants. Straw, corn stover and perennial prairie grasses such as switchgrass are just a few examples of the plants researches can transform into cellulosic ethanol. Unlike the ethanol produced from corn or soybeans, cellulosic ethanol uses primarily plant waste, which makes it a more sustainable and less expensive fuel alternative to produce domestically. Cellulosic ethanol has also shown to have a net energy content that is three times higher than corn ethanol, while emitting a low net level of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas emission reductions for cellulosic ethanol has been recorded at levels 80% better than those for gasoline, compared to 20 to 30% reductions for corn ethanol. Shell Oil predicts, "the global market for biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol will grow to exceed $10 billion by 2012." It is likely to substitute for fossil fuels as the primary transportation energy carrier.
In the News: WAF on Africa
United Press International - Analysis: Can Agriculture Save Africa?
New Vision - Uganda to host global agricultural forum
Voice of America
In late summer, the World Agricultural Forum participated in a five-part series about Agriculture development in Africa with Voice of America radio. World Agricultural Forum members Mohamed Ait Kadi, President of the General Council of Agricultural Development; Adama Gaye, Group Head Corporate Affairs for Government and Investor Relations of Ecobank; Julie Howard, Executive Director of the Partnership to End Hnger in Africa; Hon. Hilary Onek, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries for the Republic of Uganda; and Dr. George Chaponda, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development for the Republic of Malawi, spoke about their individual efforts to promote sustainability through agriculture in Africa.
- Expert Says Successful Agriculture in Africa Depends on Efficient Water Management
Mohamed Ait Kadi, President of the General Council of Agricultural Development, on international community backs long-range funding
23 August 2007 - China Continues Gaining Economic Equity in Africa Through Agricultural Investment
Expert, Adama Gaye, Group Head Corporate Affairs for Government and Investor Relations of Ecobank, says China's main interest is Africa's natural resources -- agriculture investment a trade-off
23 August 2007 - Expert Says Investment in Agricultural Infrastructure Key to Economic Development
Julie Howard, Executive Director of the Partnership to End Hnger in Africa, says without it all else will fail economically
20 August 2007 - Water Power Key to Agriculture in Many African Countries
Hon. Hilary Onek, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries for the Republic of Uganda, on hydropower also a source of territorial conflict
20 August 2007 - Effective Agricultural Investment Key to a Prosperous Africa
Dr. George Chponda, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development for the Republic of Malawi, shares thoughts on new African leadership promising future economic development success
15 August 2007
WAF Updates
For the first time in history, the World Agricultural Forum's (WAF) 2009 World Congress will take place outside of the United States and will be hosted by the Republic of Uganda. Due to overwhelming interest for what was supposed to be a regional meeting the event evolved into the WAF's 2009 World Congress, "Africa Meets the World: Creating Prosperity By Investing in Agriculture." The 2009 World Congress, scheduled for February 24-26, 2009 in Kampala, Uganda will conclude with the introduction of the WAF Task Force on Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in Africa - Entrepreneurship and Community Development on February 27, 2009.
"The world's attention to Africa continues to grow, particularly with humanitarian concerns," said the Right Honorable James Bolger, ONZ, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Ambassador to the United States, and current chairman of the World Agricultural Forum Advisory Board. "However, with the hundreds of institutions, organizations and foundations offering aid, several Africans have told us that they can barely keep up with all those who approach them. Looking beyond Africa's agricultural potential, the need for collaboration among these various groups will propel initiatives for higher education, encouraging entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs will create small businesses, providing more employment opportunities and eventually cultivating an environment for economic growth."
The WAF Task Force on Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in Africa is a joint effort with the 2007 Global Consortium of Higher Education and Research for Agriculture (GCHERA), the U.S. National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) and Sustainability, Education and the Management of Change in the Tropics (SEMSIT), Additionally, individual academic institutions from Europe, the United States and Asia will be included in this initiative.
"The growth of the World Agricultural Forum's Congress in Africa is tremendous and great outcomes are anticipated," said the Honorable Hilary Onek, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries for the Republic of Uganda. "The WAF Task Force on Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in Africa is beneficial component of the 2009 World Congress as it provides an avenue to implement the solutions discussed for making Africa a target for investments for agriculture.
Prior to the introduction of the WAF Task Force on Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in Africa, the 2009 World Congress will convene key players in global agribusiness. The Congress will foster open discussions and bring attention to increasing Africa's ability to attract investments and secure economic sustainability through the continent's raw agricultural resources. Topics, such as the worldwide debate on food vs. fuel will be addressed, as will the production of bio-energy at the village level for use by the village community.
Similarly to previous World Congresses, the 2009 World Congress will bring together an influential group of speakers to include heads of state, policy leaders, economists, corporate CEO's and NGO experts from around the world to discuss the topics and necessary actions that will make a difference in African agriculture today.
About the World Agricultural Forum
The World Agricultural Forum (WAF) is at the forefront of the evolving agricultural industry and it serves as a catalyst for innovation and positive changes in agribusiness. On a global stage, the WAF produces one of the largest biennial gatherings of leaders concerned about the world's growing population and the respective shortages of food, fuel and fiber in both developed and developing nations.
The WAF also conducts regional Congresses that, through the use of reliable and timely information, address emerging trends and key industry issues such as sustainable agriculture, fair trade policies and biotechnology. Its focus is to identify solutions to current problems facing poorer nations, particularly in overcoming hunger and poverty.
Participant Shares Views on Food and Agriculture
Professor Marcos Fava Neves, a panelist at the 2010 World Agricultural Forum - Latin America and professor at The University of Sao Paulo, Brazil has recently published two articles discussing agribusiness strategies and the food inflation problem. Please read on. Defining an Agribusiness Strategic Agenda for 2010-2020 (pdf) Strategies for Solving the Food Inflation Problem (pdf)
Professor Marcos Fava Neves, a panelist at the 2010 World Agricultural Forum - Latin America and professor at The University of Sao Paulo, Brazil has recently published two articles discussing agribusiness strategies and the food inflation problem. Please read on. Defining an Agribusiness Strategic Agenda for 2010-2020 (pdf) Strategies for Solving the Food Inflation Problem (pdf)
