(The Guardian Nigeria)The Oyo State government has paid compensation to about 77 families whose lands were acquired recently for mass production of cassava in Otu, near Iseyin. The Commissioner for Lands, Housing, and Survey, Mr. …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  On March 8, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., introduced companion bills that aim to dismantle the Renewable Fuel Standard and sunset blending obligations for conventional, advanced, …

(The Herald)  Fuel prices shot up recently before Government intervened by reducing import duty on fuel to stem the price madness that rose as a result. Questions have been raised as to the contribution of the …

(International Renewable Energy Agency) Southeast Asia has considerable resources to produce liquid biofuels sustainably, using biomass feedstocks that would not cause carbon-dioxide emissions or interfere with food supply. Fulfilling the region’s biofuel potential would depend on …

By Johnathan Hettinger and Robert Holly with additional reporting by Jelter Meers (Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting)  In 2013, the Chinese firm Shuanghui received wide public attention when it purchased U.S. pork producer Smithfield Foods …

(RightsAndResources.org)  Experts at Dakar event point to a significant cause of investment losses, work stoppages and violence across Africa: the failure of governments and companies to respect the land rights of indigenous and local communities
Sixty-three …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … In South Africa,, Chromatin and Zaad Holdings have entered into an alliance to produce and distribute planting seed for grain and forage sorghum throughout the African continent.
In Africa, sorghum is …

by Boyd Webb (IOL News)  Once home to millions of displaced black South Africans, former homelands are expected to become the heart of the country’s biofuels production.
Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulama Xingwana said …

(Stockholm Environment Institute)  This brief draws together SEI research done between 2011 and 2014 on agribusiness developments – especially of oil palm – in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The brief presents overarching insights from …

(US Department of Energy)  BETO recently published a report summarizing the proceedings of the second Incorporating Bioenergy in Sustainable Landscape Designs Workshop, held June 24–26, 2014, in Argonne, Illinois. The workshop focused on agricultural landscapes and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  As America’s farmers hit retirement age and technology options explode, what comes next?
… The average age of the US farmer reached 58.3 years in the USDA’s 2012 Census of Agriculture. …

by Greg Norman (Mongabay.com)  … Cross River State, a coastal jurisdiction in southeastern Nigeria, still bears the marks of the country’s agricultural heritage when it was the world’s largest palm oil producer. That lasted until the late …

by Felix Creutzig, Esteve Corbera, Simon Bolwig and Carol Hunsberger (IOP Science)    Integrated assessment models suggest that the large-scale deployment of bioenergy could contribute to ambitious climate change mitigation efforts. However, such a shift would …

by Mackinnon Lawrence (Forbes)  … Companies like SG Biofuels, Ceres, and others are squarely focused on biotechnology innovation, involving complex biological modifications at the crop’s cellular and genetic level.  The central focus of these efforts is the optimization of …

(Ghana Business News)  Mr Cyril T. Quist, Brong Ahafo Regional Director of  Agriculture,  has said mining and biofuel  production in the country posed a threat to agriculture. He said efforts at promoting sustainable food systems …

by Rob Vierhout  (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  … The “accountancy-model” IISD used was one-sided, looking only at government expenditure but leaving out of the picture the revenues the industry is generating for government and society. A well-respected …

by Amar Toor (The Verge)  Accusations of land grabbing revive debate over “food versus fuel”  …
But some experts say that when it comes to biofuels and food security, it’s not an “either-or” question.
“At the moment …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …ActionAid UK released a report this week focusing on the story of Addax Biofuels in Sierra Leone.
As Addax points out, it was not given the opportunity by Action Aid to …

(AllAfrica.com)  Villagers and workers in Chisumbanje and surrounding areas want President Mugabe to intervene and save the US$600 million Chisumbanje Ethanol Plant from total collapse.
The plant, owned by Green Fuel, had become the main source …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In the Netherlands, PANGEA (Partners for Euro African Green Energy) is launching today a booklet outlining Myths and Facts about Bioenergy in Africa. The brochure is intended to demystify the …

by By Brian Bienkowsk (Environmental Health News)  As a growing population stresses the world’s food and water supplies, corporations and investors in wealthy countries are buying up foreign farmland and the freshwater perks that come with …

(ActionAid)  At a seminar on biofuels in Dublin yesterday, David Barissa, a leading expert on food security and land rights from ActionAid Kenya spoke of the litany of broken promises, rights violations and destruction which …

by Obey Manayiti (News Day)   Dozens of angry villagers last week fought running battles with Zimbabwe Republic Police officers over disputed land between villagers and Green Fuel in Chisumbanje.
The clashes started last Monday, but turned …

by Gerald Kitabu  (IPP Media)  The government of Tanzania has been urged to localise biofuel commercial production by empowering small farmers in terms of training, loans and marketing.
The call was made by Tanzanian researchers and …

by Ashery Mkama   (AllAfrica.com)   Villagers from Kilwa and Rufiji districts have requested the government to involve them in implementation of bio-fuel projects and investments in which huge tracts of land is used.
They told members …

by Sara Mojtehedzadeh  (Edmonton Journal)  Bedford Biofuels’ plantation is stalled, and along with it the company’s promise to provide jobs and cash for community development
…Though this is an arid and unforgiving area, the land surrounding Garsen …

by Jason Motlagh (The Washington Post/Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting)  Long a preferred cooking ingredient in developing countries, palm oil is now in greater demand in Western markets because of its low price and long …

(IPPMedia/The Guardian Reporter)  The government has been urged to reduce the maximum land size of each bio-fuel developer from the proposed 20,000 ha to 10,000 ha and give investors conditions which would enable them deliver.
Speaking …

by Jack Litster  (CCCI-CCIC)  When the price of agrofuel production finally became economically competitive with the high price of oil around 2005, a debate soon opened up about whether transport fuel produced from crops (such …

(The Guardian)  Tighter EU rules on biofuel production are failing to protect the land rights of Indonesia’s indigenous communities
…To understand the scale of the problem, Sawit Watch (sawit means palm oil in Indonesian) is supporting smallholders and indigenous …

(All Africa)  The Chisumbanje Ethanol Project, if properly managed has the potential of bringing about meaningful development that can change the lives of the people and turn around the fortunes of the country’s economy, Hon. …

(Newstime Africa)  The World Bank has rejected a call to suspend its involvement in large scale agricultural land acquisition following the release of a major report by the international aid agency Oxfam on the negative …

(SurvivalInternational.org)  …But some of its sugar cane is grown on land claimed by the Guarani tribe, one of the most persecuted and impoverished in South America. Their leaders are regularly killed by gunmen acting for the sugar cane …

(PRNewsWire/Moneylife)  Scientific findings and process on biofuel crop presented in a paper delivered at INSULA (International Scientific Council for Island Development) / RSB (Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels), Conference in UNESCO, Paris
JOil (S) Pte Ltd, a scientific …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   Biofuels Digest senior editor Meghan Sapp, in her other role as Secretary-General of the Europe-based PANGEA (Partners for Euro-African Green Energy), released her organization’s breakthrough report on biofuels and …

by Rick Westhead (The Star)  …Indian industrialist Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi has his eye on this lush scenery, too, but he sees something much different: the potential for large-scale commercial farming.
Karuturi, from the South Indian city …

by Kevin Kelley (The East African)  A leading US environmental group is opposing the planned purchase of 325,000 hectares of land in Tanzania by an American company.
…Opponents charge that the deal amounts to a “land …

(AMG/MarketWire)  AMG Bioenergy Resources Holdings Ltd. (the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:ABG), a Canadian publicly traded company, wishes to provide an update on the progress of its acquisition of a 133 hectare jatropha plantation and a 201 …

by Damian Carrington (The Guardian/The Observer)  The collapse of Sun Biofuels has left hundreds of Tanzanians landless, jobless, and in despair for the future
“People feel this is like the return of colonialism,” says Athumani Mkambala, chairman …

by Finnigan Wa Simbeye    (AllAfrica.com)  An ambitious biodiesel project which was allocated over 8,000 hectares of land by Kisarawe district officials in 2008 is in trouble.
Employees and casual workers of Sun Biofuels Plc, told Business …

(The Daily News)  THE government has been warned against allocating over 320,000 hectares of prime land in Rukwa Region to an American agro-firm, Agrisol Energy, which is seeking to undertake large scale commercial farming for …

(Radio Netherlands Worldwide)  “Shell must leave our land… The companies must stop using indigenous land,” said Ambrosio Vilhalva, a Guarani from the Caarapo municipality in the southern state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
“We want justice, …

(Rainharvest)  To achieve “win-win outcomes” for bio-energy, food security and poverty reduction, we must recognise that these outcomes are possible.
This is what Prof Lee Lynd, of Dartmouth College and the Mascoma Corporation, told delegates during …

(Guardian News and Mail)  Gamba Manyatta village is empty now, weeds already roping around the few skeletal hut frames still standing. The people who were evicted took as much of their building materials as they …

by Thompson Ayodele (Initiative for Public Policy Analysis)  Forward by  Dr. Matthew O. Eshalomi:  Growth and prosperity of an economy are central to the longterm reduction in poverty for both economic and environmental sustainability. Palm oil …