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

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