On land grab …

Friends of the Earth, an international grassroot environmental network recently published a 36 page report that warns of the developed countries drive for biofuels. The report titled “Africa: up for grabs” says that arable land that would provide food is now being turned into biofuel plantations, leading to hunger and increased food insecurity.

The research covering 11 African countries found that at least 5 million hectares – an area the size of Denmark- has been acquired by foreign firms for biofuel production. However in some cases, local farmers and communities are not consulted nor adequately made aware of what selling or leasing their property means.

In July 2010, a draft report by the World Bank, reported in the Financial Times controversially told that investors were targeting countries with weak land governance structures; and failing to deliver on promises of employment and further investment. The final report is yet to be published.

Activists have also claimed that farmers are pushed off their land to live in poverty. Nevertheless the pressure for more land continues to grow with policies in the west such as the European Unions Renewable Energy Directive that calls for 10% of fuels to originate from renewable sources.

Though 80% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population depends on agriculture as a source of income, farmers not only have to contend with adverse weather conditions as a result of climate change, but others either do not get paid for their harvests or receive only a fraction of what they should earn. Little wonder then that with the prospect of cash for land, farmers continue to sell or lease out their property.

A solution to rampant “land grab” has been the imposition of a certification scheme. This like fair-trade would at least ensure that the agreements for sale or lease would be beneficial to the original owners. Domestic markets for biofuels could also be promoted so the farmers can also be beneficiaries.

Nurturing Africa’s “green” youth entrepreneurs

Nowadays, the media is full of stories on green fuels, ranging from jatropha, coffee husks as well as peanut casings, amongst other innovative sources. There is even a sub-set of the social entrepreneur class, the so-called “green entrepreneur” who in turn consist of “renewable energy entrepreneurs”.

Biodiesels such as jatropha have the potential to create upto 300 direct and indirect jobs from every 1,000 hectares cultivated. The crop grows well even in arid areas, making it an ideal agricultural based enterprise. Even apart from its use as a fuel, jatropha is ideal for other consumer items such as soaps and insect repellents. However, such an enterprise is beyond the reach of young entrepreneurs. Not only do they lack access to land, but more importantly, they are often unaware of information on new trends in green enterprise.

Agri-based enterprise is now big business. African governments are even leasing land to Middle and far Eastern countries. Even large corporations such as Daewoo have leased large tracts of land. Indeed environmental conservation and climate change management have become common. Our larger companies have even found an alternative source of income through carbon credits trading.

Unfortunately youth entrepreneurs have not taken advantage of such opportunities.

To address this gap, the Yipe.org Entrepreneurship Portal regularly posts information for our “green” youth entrepreneurs. Currently, there are two opportunities that young entrepreneurs interested in making a change to our environment can take advantage of:
• The World Bank’s International Essay Competition invites the youth to share ideas on the impact of climate change on their lives and how to tackle climate change through youth-led solutions.
• The Financial Times Climate Change Challenge sponsored by Hewlett-Packard and Forum for the Future aims at highlighting businesses with ground-breaking approaches for tackling the threat of climate change.

As the business leaders of tomorrow, it remains imperative that the youth are made aware of such opportunities. At Yipe.org we shall continue to keep them “in the know”.