Brazil to build 'Biofuel Town' in Nigeria to kickstart bioenergy industry

Brazil is becoming very creative and serious about its intentions to help Africa tap its vast biofuel potential. The green energy leader recently established an agronomic research center in Ghana, aimed at transferring knowledge on bioenergy and technology, and a host of bilateral agreements in the sector were signed (earlier post). But now, an exciting new project is being launched - one that may, according to the initiators, become a model for Africa, India and China alike. With the project, Brazil strengthens its commitment to pursue South-South exchanges on bioenergy.

'Biofuel Town'
During the "Dia da África" [*Portuguese] (Africa Day, 25 May), which celebrates relationships between Brazil and Africa, a consortium of research organisations, companies and civil society organisations announced [*Portuguese] it will establish an 'AgroTown' ('Biofuel Town') in Nigeria, to kickstart a biofuel revolution on the continent. The project has the direct support of the government of President Lula da Silva, who is a staunch advocate of using biofuels as a tool for international cooperation and development assistance, as well as of the Nigerian government.

The Brazilian 'Biofuel Town' project consists of the creation of a settlement that can, in a first phase, house 1000 people - who will become bioenergy experts - , on an area of 6 million square meters. The project is estimated to cost US$100 million in a first phase.

The initiative makes use of the vast Brazilian experience in building sector-specific towns on the agricultural frontier. José Luiz de Vasconcelos Bonini, director of JLVB Arquitetura e Urbanismo, one of the brains behind the project, says one of the goals is to export Brazilian biofuels and agronomic know-how to sub-Saharan Africa. "The 'AgroTown' will be built near Nigeria's capital Lagos. The idea is to attract local investors and to help them produce ethanol on the basis of sugar cane and biodiesel on the basis of palm oil, widely grown in the country, as well as from castor."

In between the urban and the rural
Lagos is Africa's largest capital, a true megapolis of 14 million (if not more) inhabitants, many of whom live in dire poverty. It is not a coincidence that the 'Biofuel Town' will be built nearby. As such, it becomes a 'transitional zone' between Nigeria's country-side and the urban landscape. Energy is at the center of this conceptual zone - green energy, and not petroleum, the curse of the country. The location is more than symbolic, because it will actively tap into the real traffic between the rural and the urban, namely into the stream of internal migrants who leave their villages to try their luck in the mega-city.

Bonini notes that Lagos is almost as large as São Paulo, Latin America's biggest city, and that Brazilians understand this trek from the country-side to the city very well.

These rural migrants, on the brink of becoming urbanites, but still fundamentally farmers, will be invited to come and live near the new 'Biofuel Town'. There they will be surrounded by Brazilian agronomists and bioenergy experts. In a first phase these rural families will become the workers on the industrial plantations, but gradually they will be helped to become biofuel experts who will start their own mini-industries in the sector. This 'avant-garde' can then transfer technology, knowledge and skills to other parts of the country:
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: poverty alleviation :: technology transfers :: Brazil :: Nigeria :: Lagos ::


To attract families, the 'Biofuel Town' will offer a range of incentives, such as professional training and education. When it comes to Brazilian agronomists, Bonini says the project has received a warm welcome, and a special agency was created to link up agricultural engineers from different institutions to make sure that the project gets noted.

Nigeria's contribution
The African country is set to benefit from this project, and in exchange for this influx of expertise and technology, Nigeria will contribute by exempting Brazilian companies from taxes for a period of five years. "We think this is an opportunity for Brazilian companies to collaborate with local partners and to expand their capacities. The Nigerian partners will help in divulging the news about the Biofuel City. In Brazil, the Associação Comercial Brasil-Nigeria is one of the investors."

According to Berucke Chikaeze Nwabasili, president of Brazil's nigerian community and member of the Associação Comercial says the 'AgroTown' will also function as a commercial chamber that will boost exchanges between the two countries: "It is interesting to do this via the development of biofuels." Nwabasili adds that the experience gained in the 'Biofuel Town' will be transferred to other parts of the country.

Nigeria "is a country rich in land and where sugar cane already is one of the leading crops for subsistence farming. The company Eco Energia will be responsible for the extraction of castor, a crop that is well suited for the region which has an excellent climate."

Interestingly, in another concession, the Nigerian government has authorised the project leaders to supply the town of energy - a task that would normally be carried out exclusively by official energy companies.

Expansion
The project's ultimate goal is to go beyond the borders of Nigeria and export the model of the 'Biofuel Town' to India, China and the countries of West Africa. But the expansion will also involve products other than biofuels.

Vita Brasil, one of the collaborating companies, hopes to introduce a new ranges of foodstuffs aimed at fighting infant mortality: baby food made from cassava and rice, combined with esential minerals. According to Marc Aygadoux, marketing director, the goal is to triple exports of these products to Nigeria, which currently stand at 100 tonnes per month. A one year pilot project with the food in Brazil's city of Mongaguá, on the coast of São Paulo state, showed very encouraging results: infant mortality was reduced from 26 promille to 5 promille.

According to the director, the company is looking for African directors who can help create the market for the projects there. The 'Biofuel Town' may well be the perfect starting point to do so.

No hegemony
Speaking to 22 African ambassadors to Brazil during the 'Dia da África' president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressed that his country has no hegemonic intentions in Africa: "Brazil has no imperialist ambitions. Brazil refuses to become a hegemonic voice. Instead, Brazil wants to develop together, build together, to our common benefit."

The president signed a range of agreements tying the relationships between Africa and Brazil. Initiatives include the creation of a joint Latin-American - African university as well as the opening of a subsidiary of the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) on the continent.

Brazil will help the continent especially on the front of peace building and conflict prevention, because a lack of political stability is the single most important factor determining Africa's underdevelopment.

"Only peace can guarantee a healthy development. Without peace, and with war, there is no economic growth, no educational development, no technological progress and injustice reigns."

Lula then focused on his intention to produce biofuels in Africa as a way to lift countries out of poverty.

Present at the celebration of the 'Dia da África' at the Palácio do Planalto were the ambassadors of South Africa, Angola, Cabo Verde África do Sul, Angola, Algeria, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d´Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guinee, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

More information:
Notícias Agrícolas: Brasil implantará agrovila na Nigéria para etanol e biodiesel (DCI) - May 25, 2007.

Agência Brasil: Lula sugere novas parcerias com países africanos e defende fim das guerras - May 25, 2007.