Need to regulate production areas for biofuels - Eli

Accra, May 27, GNA - The management of Food Security Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSPAN) on Wednesday called on Government to institute a comprehensive national policy on biofuels with clear guidelines and directives to regulate production areas. It expressed concern about the danger associated with the rate of land acquisition for large scale plantations especially Jatropha production for biofuel production in place of food production in the country.

The call was made by Mr David Eli, Chairman of FoodSPAN at a press briefing in Accra on pertinent issues and concerns regarding their implications for livelihoods, food security and the environment. FoodSPAN is a non-profit and non-political civil society network interested in food security in the country. He said FoodSPAN in collaboration with Action Aid Ghana conducted a study in Northern, Upper East and West, Volta, Eastern, Central and Ashanti Regions and realised that serious threat was being posed to livelihoods and food security due to land acquisition by multinational companies for Jatropha cultivation. Mr Eli pointed out that the absence of a clearly defined policy direction could seriously interfere with development processes and priorities, with far damaging consequences to liberate the people from underdevelopment, poverty and deprivation from economic dominance of foreign interest.

He said in addition to the emerging pressures from competition for fertile and productive agricultural land and other productive resources there was an increase in environmental destruction of biodiversity from the wholesale destruction of ecosystems and massive application of agro-chemicals for biofuel. Mr Eli said FoodSPAN was not against biofuel production or investment but the productive lands that were being used by the companies were a threat to food security. "We wish to state categorically that, we support biofuel production only to the extent that it is driven by national interest considerations, informed by the rights of the people of the country, especially the right to food", he stressed. Mr Eli said even though its production promoted employment opportunities and provision of social amenities in the communities, the interest of the people were ignored when they were displaced and their fertile lands destroyed.

"Ghana is not self sufficient in food production; we are still importing foodstuffs to feed the ever increasing population but our lands are fixed, meanwhile our fertile lands are used for biofuel production," he added. "Today, our fears of this emerging trend's tendency of undermining achievements made so far in the fight against poverty and hunger are heightened with Ghana hosting the World Jatropha Summit in Accra this week," he said. He called on stakeholders to ensure Ghanaians did not suffer from food insecurity and worsening poverty situation as result of displacement of small-scale farmers and their families. Mr Eli stressed that government institutions in consultation with traditional land owners should consider mapping and zoning lands in the country for effective and efficient utilization to avoid competition of land for food or biofuel. He called on the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure proper environmental impact assessment before biofuel projects begun to avoid serious adverse impact on the physical environment and water. Mr Eli appealed to participants attending the World Jatropha Summit to consider in their deliberations the conditions of small-scale farmers, poor and vulnerable in society. 27 May 09