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This speech was held by the Board Chairman of the Energy Commission at the: Bioenergy Markets West Africa conference 27.-29. October 2009, Accra, Ghana
An extract of the speech concerning BioFuel Africa Ltd. is quoted below:
-As I bring this address to a close, I wish to salute companies like Biofuel Africa Ltd who share our cardinal principle of sustainable biofuels for local agro-industrial development.
Biofuel Africa Ltd which has begun commercial production of jatropha oil in Ghana, claims to have increased additional acreage for local farmers' food crops tenfold, with plans to cultivate another 2,550 hectares of maize, rice and soybeans in 2010, producing approximately 6,000 - 8,000 tons of additional food crops for the 2010 season.
Their food first policy is one that we would want to see more biofuels companies adopt in Ghana.
I am aware that Biofuel Africa's claims are disputed in some NGO and academic circles.
I wish to affirm at this conference that much as I personally admire Biofuel Africa for leading the way in our journey from talk to action, I would in my capacity as Board Chairman of the Energy Commission strive to see that a forum is created for claims and counterclaims in the biofuels industry to be researched and reported on through more objective media so that in the end we all might enjoy the benefits of a truly sustainable people-oriented biofuels industry.
By Prof. Abeeku Brew-Hammond (Board Chairman, Energy Commission, Ghana), at the Bioenergy Markets West Africa Conference, La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra on Tuesday 27 October 2009
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