Indian company launches bio-fuel farm in Ethiopia


  1. Yohannes Gessesse, AfricaNews reporter, Addis Ababa Ethiopia
    Emami Biotech ltd, a member of India's Emami Group Company, which is engaged in various investment areas, on Friday, began covering 10, 000 hectares of land in Ethiopia with jatropha for production of bio-fuel.
    Biofuel
    The company in planning to cover a total of 40,000 hectares of land in Ethiopia with jatropha and castor bean with in the next three years. This will be converted into 100,000 tons of bio fuel every year after five years, Vinthal R. Karoshi the General Manager of Emami Biotech ltd Ethiopian Branch, told Addis Admass, a local weekly Amharic language newspaper.

    As a result after five years, the country will be able to save some 600 million USD every year that it used to spend for importing fuel or it at least gets that much hard currency from the export of Emami's bio-fuel in addition to the taxes it collects from the company. The general manager also stated that in the coming years, the company plans to cover 15,000 hectares of land every year with jatropha and castor bean.

    The company is currently producing 100,000 tons of bio-fuel from jatropha evry year in Kolkata, India. According to the Mr. Karoshi, the company will create tens of thousands of jobs since covering one hectare of land with jatropha requires 170 employees. Appreciating the Oromia Regional government authorities for providing the company the required land with in less than one month, he expressed his hope that the country will soon liberate its citizens from poverty.

    Emami Limited specializes in manufacturing health, beauty and personal care products with over 25 years experience.

    The seed will be ready to be processed and converted into bio-fuel after three years and it gives the same amount of yield every year for 45 years afterwards.

    The Ethiopian government's has made available 24 million hectares of land for bio-fuel generating companies like Global energy one of the biggest bio-fuel producer in the world and 20 other foreign companies registered to invest in the sector. Out of this, six are already on the ground and are planting or completed planting jantropha and other non food item plants for generation of bio-fuel.

    It is recalled that the government of Ethiopia has announced repeatedly that the 24 million hectares of land allocated for bio-fuel will not compete with the land used for growing food crops as it is not suitable for producing crops.



Latest News

  1. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  2. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  3. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  4. AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades31/01The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
  5. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  6. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  7. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  8. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
  9. Clashes in Senegal as Wade seek third term30/01Clashes have erupted in Senegal's capital Dakar and several other city cities ; after the Constitutional Council said President Abdoulaye Wade co…
  10. Africa Union’s top posts tightly…27/01All eyes are on the 18th African Union (AU) Summit that is currently underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia until the 30th of January 2012.
  11. Gambia's leader pulls out of AU presidenc…27/01Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has pulled out of the race for the presidency of the African Union's Assembly.
  12. NIGERIA: Chadians among Kano attackers26/01Nigerian police said people speaking a Chadian language were among the attackers who waged bombing and shooting sprees in Kano last Friday, killing a …
  13. Kenya’s finance minister resigns26/01Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta has resigned on Thursday together with the Secretary to the Cabinet and head of t…
  14. Malawi losing $28m in fisheries resources26/01Malawi is losing $28 million (about MK4.6 billion) worth of fisheries resources each year due to unsustainable fishing in natural bodies.
  15. Nigeria’s president appoints new police…26/01Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan has appointed the assistant inspector general of police Mohammed Dikko Abubakar as acting inspector general…
News archive