Benefits and Ordeals of a Biofuel Project in Nigeria

by Oladunjoye A. Waleola (Avandith Renewable Energy Limited Nigeria; special to Advanced Biofuels USA) Avandith Renewable Energy Limited Nigeria is a company deeply involved in Jatropha curcas cultivation as well as biofuel production. We have been on the ground and researching Jatropha since 2009. In line with our mission statement (‘’ sourcing and supply of renewable energy and biofuels both in the local and global market’’) we are set to actualize this vision by giving it whatever it takes.

(i) To produce fuels having fewer emissions of carbon monoxide particulates and toxic chemicals that cause smog, aggravate respiratory and heart disease, and contribute to thousands of premature deaths each year worldwide;

(ii) To reduce poverty to the barest minimum as cultivation of Jatropha curcas will serve as a source of income for farmers, most especially in Africa; and

Towards actualizing our vision, we initially planned to operate on a large scale but due to financial constraints we could not do that. We had to narrow it down to a small scale operation with the hope to enlarge.

We are of the belief that if much is grown there may be worldwide markets as well as local markets to effect this. Seminars and workshops are organized for farmers at regular intervals to sensitize them to the need to grow Jatropha.

Although farmers are willing to use their land for this project, there is a limit to how far we can go with the sensitization process due to limitation of funds. At other times farmers are ready but the money to purchase the seedlings and maintain their farms is not just available. Sometimes we go the extra mile to make seedlings available to the farmers free of charge, but there is a limit to how far we can go because the ratio of interested farmers to seedlings available is high.

Presently, we anticipate getting about ten thousand farmers involved in this project and not less than twenty thousand hectares of land will be involved. In addition, the company has 60 hectares of Jatropha curcas plantation on leased land, and has also acquired 100 hectares of land intended to be used for Jatropha cultivation, but could not go any further due to lack of funds needed to clear the land and get it ready for Jatropha cultivation.

In the course of biofuel production, it is anticipated that the harvested product will be conveyed from the farmers to a centralized location where it will be processed into biofuel. However, there is an exception to this. If there is a large acreage of land in a particular area, we may likely consider expelling oil and shipping that to a centralized location for final processing.

The project is self-financing right from the onset. The government of Nigeria is creating awareness about Jatropha and biofuel, but no funds are made available for such projects. Right now there are no investors. The seed money comes directly from us (myself and my wife).

At the initial stage, hybrid seeds were sourced from India, but later we decided to purchase the seeds from Germany due to their higher oil content. The contract between us and German interest lies only in the area of seed purchase.

We are not paid for doing our work and no form of funding or expertise is given to us. At the moment, should there be outside investors, we guarantee the reality of their expectations because Nigeria has a favourable climatic condition for Jatropha cultivation in the southwest coupled with an efficient and effective management team to ensure investors/customers satisfaction.

The ordeals we undergo on this project are enough to make us give up, but the determination to live our vision strengthens us to continue with it.

* In the summer of 2015, Oladunjoye A. Waleola met with Advanced Biofuels USA's Summer 2014 intern, Olatomiwa Bifarin, and Olatomiwa's father, Dr J.O. Bifarin, who teaches at the Federal College of Agriculture Akure, Ondo State in Nigeria. The visit took place during Bifarin's visit home before beginning his Ph.D. studies at the University of Georgia last year.

As a follow-up to that conversation, Waleola agreed to describe his mission and experience in more detail to give Advanced Biofuels USA readers an "up close and personal" glimpse of his effort to develop a biodiesel industry in Nigeria.