Biofuel Crop Decision-Making Tool

A Biofuel Crop Decision-making Tool for SADC
Version 3.0

GTZ ProBEC

2 October 2007

Summary

The development of biofuel industries offers multiple advantages for SADC countries.
These include development of new areas of agricultural potential, new manufacturing
opportunities, export opportunities, improved energy security and improved air
quality through the reduction of the burning of fossil fuels.

These opportunities arise from high and rising crude oil prices, scientific innovation in
technology, and in some instances, market mechanisms introduced through the
Kyoto Protocol.

However, despite these opportunities, the development of a biofuel industry faces
many challenges which have been documented elsewhere.

This document is a decision-making tool that assists planners and project managers
in SADC countries to evaluate dryland biofuel crop options, AT A DESKTOP LEVEL,
the agricultural segment of the biofuel value chain.

This tool supports strategic decision-making and supports the decision-maker to
formulate business case or opportunity statement for investment in biofuel crop
production at a farm level, in SADC. Following this, business planning may proceed.

The tool is designed with a view to achieving compliance in biofuel development with
sustainability criteria, indicators and standards. Biofuel ventures have large social,
economic and environmental footprints, both for current and future generations. A
sustainable biofuel venture therefore requires a stable market, a suitable physical
environment, a socio-economically stable agricultural opportunity and a crop
portfolio managed such that environmental risks are internalised.

The decision-maker must explore three areas of information, (a) the market
opportunity, (b) the agricultural opportunity and from the information gained from
these, (c) select the most appropriate crop(s).

Market opportunity analysis informs the decisions of investment through:
Determining country specific policies, and conditions as it relates to biofuel
production;
Establishing whether biodiesel of bio-ethanol (or both) strategies should
be pursued;
Determining the nature and extent of value added production
requirements beyond farming;
Establishing important market parameters such as size, growth and price;
and
Determining the opportunities and constraints associated with by-
products.
Agricultural opportunity analysis informs decisions of investment by:
Describing the nature, extent and location of the existing agricultural
sector; and
Prioritising crops based on expected biofuel yield.

Decision-makers are led in a step-wise manner through these decision-making steps.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
a annum
AEZ Agro-ecological zoning as applied by the FAO
ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
CDM Clean Development Mechanism
CI Compression ignition
DIN Deutsches Institut fr Normung
DNA Designated National Authority
ha hectare
IEA International Energy Agency
EN European Standards
FAME Fatty Acid Methyl Ester
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation
FSC Forest Stewardship Council
GTZ Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
ha Hectare
ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
ISO International Organisation for Standardisation
mm millimetre (rainfall)
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
ppm parts per million
R&D Research & Development
SABS South African Bureau of Standards
SADC Southern African Development Community
SG Specific Gravity
SME Small and Medium Enterprise
STI Science, Technology and Innovation
TE Trans-Esterification
UN United Nations
UNCCD United Nations Convention on the Combating of Desertification
USD United States Dollar

4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary ........................................................................................................ 2
List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents ............................................................................................. 4
How to use this Manual ..................................................................................... 5
1 STEP 1: Conduct a literature survey on biofuel, with particular reference to the
country of interest ............................................................................................ 6
1.1 An introduction to biofuel ....................................................................... 6
1.2 What is bio-ethanol? .............................................................................. 8
1.3 What is biodiesel? ................................................................................. 9
1.4 The economics of a biofuel value chain .................................................. 12
1.5 Country approaches to biofuel .............................................................. 13
2 STEP 2: Align the biofuel project to country policy and design for sustainability 15
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 15
2.2 Conduct a policy field analysis .............................................................. 16
2.3 Establish a project support network ....................................................... 16
2.4 Achieve institutionalisation ................................................................... 16
3 STEP 3: Prioritise the appropriate biofuel pathway ....................................... 18
3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 18
3.2 Analyse the potential biofuel market in the country ................................. 18
3.3 Identify biofuel buyers ......................................................................... 21
3.4 Technology and the economy of scale considerations ............................... 22
4 STEP 4: Prioritise the appropriate crops ....................................................... 23
4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 23
4.2 Biofuel crop options ............................................................................. 23
4.3 Identify biofuel those crops in Table 7 currently farmed ........................... 24
4.4 New crops: Conduct a rapid assessment of new crop suitability................. 25
4.5 Other considerations............................................................................ 28
5 STEP 5: Prioritise the appropriate crops ....................................................... 32
5.1 Categorise the potential crops .............................................................. 32
5.2 Calculate potential biofuel yield ............................................................. 32
5.3 Calculate potential biofuel value for each crop ........................................ 33
6 STEP 6: Develop the business case for the project ........................................ 34
References .................................................................................................... 35
7 Appendix 1: Choice of species .................................................................... 37
7.1 Preface .............................................................................................. 37
7.2 Crops for the bio-ethanol pathway ......................................................... 40
7.3 Crops for the biodiesel pathway ............................................................ 48
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL

This Manual describes the logical flow and interrelationship of elements that affect
the formulation of a business case or opportunity statement for investment in biofuel
crop production for any SADC country.

Users of this Manual require access to the Internet to extract country information
required for decision-making.

STEP 1 of the Manual provides a brief introduction to biofuel and first generation
biofuel technologies. Users of this Manual should study as much additional literature
as possible on various biofuel. Such literature is available through the Internet.

STEP 2 has guidelines on determining what relevant country policy requirements
need to be met in a biofuels initiative, institutional opportunities and how this may
be achieved.

STEP 3 enables the user to prioritise the biofuel pathway most appropriate to the
opportunities at hand.

STEP 4 sets out a procedure to prioritise the appropriate crops.

STEP 5 shows how to make the final crop selection.

STEP 6 develops the business case for the initiative.

Following this, business planning for a dryland biofuel agricultural project may
proceed.

Box 1. What is a biofuel economy?

A biofuel economy is an integrated,
domestic agricultural and energy
marketplace where the role players
(farmers, producers, buyers) can sell and
buy the commodities associated with
biofuel production profitably. It is however,
also possible to profitably produce biofuel
(especially biodiesel) for niche market
opportunities, in the absence of a fully-
functioning biofuel economy.

STEP 1: CONDUCT A LITERATURE SURVEY ON BIOFUEL, WITH
PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE COUNTRY OF INTEREST

AN INTRODUCTION TO BIOFUEL
There is a growing awareness among countries worldwide that the global energy
economy should move steadily from its present excessive dependence on fossil
hydrocarbon energy to hydrogen energy. This is the preferred path to a renewable,
carbon-neutral economy with, ideally, zero emissions. The main drivers for this
imperative include:

limited life of global fossil-fuel stocks
security of domestic energy supply
volatility of international fossil fuel prices
environmental legislation to reduce polluting emissions
improvements in energy efficiency
science and technology advances

In aspiring to a hydrogen-energy economy, every country has to develop unique
roadmaps that integrate and align their unique resources, constraints and
opportunities.

This requires a systems approach that integrates natural and human resources,
financial resources, technology, and market opportunities in a coherent strategy for
advancing to the new energy economy, signposted by the objectives to be achieved
on the way.

Large, energy-intensive economies such
as the USA, Brazil, China, India,
Germany and others are in a position to
direct and lead the development of
energy supply strategies and establish
domestic biofuel economies (see Box 1)
through subsidy-driven macro-economic
interventions, new fossil-fuel energy
technology development (such as
further oil exploration and coal and
natural gas beneficiation), and the
development of renewable energy
industries.

Countries of the Southern African Development Community have much smaller
economies and do not have the same economic resources to establish a subsidy-
driven biofuel industry. If they choose to address exports to the North, they face
challenges in that their biofuels products would have to compete in price with
subsidised (low) prices in the European and American markets. SADC countries must
therefore take a market-driven approach appropriate to the sectors that they wish to
supply.

7
Countries in the region each face their own problems of logistics and locational
economics: biofuels projects must be fitted to local costs and prices, not the national
or regional averages.

Furthermore, every SADC country has unique development imperatives, resources
and constraints, all of which have to be considered in the development of a
successful biofuel industry. Biofuel industry development plans must therefore be
aligned with the countrys system of policies and strategies for development.

Two biofuel technology pathways are of interest: bio-ethanol and biodiesel
1
. These
pathways are distinguished by the biomass sources used as raw material, namely
natural sugars (or their precursors) in the case of bio-ethanol, and plant oils in the
case of biodiesel (see Figure 1).

The appropriate pathway should be selected to be as far as possible compatible with
existing agricultural commodity markets and liquid fuel markets in a country.

Each pathway has different technology requirements. Both bio-ethanol and biodiesel
technologies are mature, first-generation technologies that are easily accessible (not
proprietary protected). Bio-ethanol technologies have higher economies of scale
than biodiesel technologies, requiring larger capital investment.

The appropriate biofuel technology pathway should therefore be selected before
crops are selected.

1
Other emerging biofuel technology pathways include the lignocelluloses and algae pathways. These are
emerging technologies, often referred to as second generation technologies, and do not form part of the
scope of this manual. In future, as these technologies mature, this tool may be expanded to include
these.
8

Figure 1: The bio-ethanol and biodiesel technology pathways

WHAT IS BIO-ETHANOL?
Bio-ethanol is a liquid fuel, manufactured from natural sugars and starches and is
compatible with conventional petrol. Bio-ethanol can therefore be used to fuel
spark-ignition (SI) engines.

Sugarcane and starch crops such as maize, sorghum and cassava are typical crops
that can be converted to bio-ethanol through a series of processes which produces
sugar from starch (saccharification), and bio-ethanol from sugar (fermentation).
Wood fibre is also a potential source of bio-ethanol.

The natural sugars derived from sugar or starch-producing crops can be converted to
bio-ethanol and used to substitute petrol in spark-ignition engines. The figure above
(Figure 1) describes the value chain associated with the natural sugar technology
pathway.

Crops such as sugarcane, maize and others yield the raw material required for bio-
ethanol production. Sugar products include sugar, molasses and bagasse. The
hydrolysis and fermentation processes, although indicated as separate activities in
the figure below (Figure 2), take place in a dedicated processing plant. It is
important to note that each of the products generated at the various processing
steps in the bio-ethanol value chain, may be sold into various product markets.

Farmers
growing oilseed
crops
Oilseed
Biodiesel
Biodiesel
Producers
Oilseed
markets
Retail sales
(small business
and household
use in diesel
vehicles,
kerosene
stoves, diesel
generators)
Own use in
diesel vehicles
Wholesale sales
(blending at
diesel depots)
Farmers
growing sugar
and starch
crops
Produce
Ethanol
Ethanol
Producers
Sugar and
starch
commodity
markets
Retail sales
(household use
in ethanol-gel
stoves)
Wholesale sales
(blending at
petrol refinery)
Conversions at
petrol filling
stations
The biodiesel technology pathway The bio-ethanol technology pathway
9

Figure 2: The Bio-ethanol Value Chain

Bio-ethanol is compatible with petrol, although the blending process is more
complicated than for that of blending biodiesel with diesel (see below). Bio-ethanol
blends are expressed as E (% of bio-ethanol blended into mineral petrol).

Bio-ethanol has the following characteristics:
Bio-ethanol contains no harmful nitrogen or aromatics.
The energy content of bio-ethanol is 30% less than that of mineral petrol.
Therefore, although fuel efficiency of bio-ethanol is similar to mineral
petrol, the fuel economy, power and torque may be approximately 10%
lower, depending on the blend used.
Blends above E2 provide are severely hygroscopic, and requires dedicated
management.
Various International Fuel Standards exist for bio-ethanol as a liquid fuel
(ASTM D4806-98, EN 14214, SABS 1935).
Drinking bio-ethanol is heavily taxed in most countries. To render bio-
ethanol unfit for human consumption, and remove the food tax, it is
denatured by adding bio-ethanol (which is toxic) or other chemicals which
affects taste and colour.

WHAT IS BIODIESEL?
Biodiesel is a liquid fuel, manufactured from plant oils, recycled cooking grease or
animal fats, or biomass for cellulosic biodiesel, and is compatible with and blends
Wholesale,
niche/retail liquid
fuel buyers
M
a
r
k
e
t
By-products buyers or own use
within plant (e.g. energy)
Household liquid
energy buyers
Commodity
markets
buyers
Hydrolysis /
fermentation
Farmer
growing
sugar and
starch crops
Produce
Pulped fibrous by-products
Ethanol
Logistics
P
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n
Chemical
suppliers /
Importers
Role
Players
Products Processes
Legend
Ethanol Producer
10
easily into conventional mineral diesel. Biodiesel can therefore be used to fuel
compression-ignition (CI) engines.

Biodiesel is easily blended into conventional mineral diesel. Blends are expressed as
B (% of FAME blended into mineral diesel), for instance, a blend of one part biodiesel
with 100 parts mineral diesel is known as a B1 blend.

Plant oils, derived from oil-rich seed crops, may be converted to products that drive
compression-ignition engines as partial or full replacement for heavy fuel oil or
conventional mineral diesel. These liquid fuels may be used to drive automotive
engines, water pumps or diesel generators.

This technology pathway also yields various by-products for non-energy markets.
The figure below (Figure 3) describes the biodiesel value chain. Oilseed crops (such
as palm, sunflower, soya, Jatropha curcas and others) yield seed, which, after an oil
expelling or extraction process, yield plant oil and seed cake.

The plant oil forms the raw material for a chemical engineering process termed
trans-esterification. This process yields fatty acid methyl ester (FAME)
2
, which, when
used as a substitute for or additive to mineral diesel, is commonly known as
biodiesel. Biodiesel may be sold into various liquid fuel markets, for automotive or
household use, or electricity generation. It is important to note that each of the
products generated at the various processing steps in the biodiesel value chain, may
be sold into various product markets. Tallow, the fatty cattle waste product
originating from abattoirs, may also be used as a trans-esterification raw material.

The level of vertical integration of the value chain may vary. On the one hand, it is
possible to conduct all the value chain activities on farm. In the biodiesel economies
of Europe, seed storage, seed crushing and trans-esterification are conducted by
integrated biodiesel plants.

Biodiesel has the following characteristics:
It contains no harmful nitrogen or aromatics, and less than 15 ppm
sulphur.
Biodiesel is biodegradable and should not be stored for longer than 6
months without the use of anti-oxidation additives.
The energy content of biodiesel is between 0-10% less than that of
mineral diesel. Therefore, although fuel efficiency of FAME is similar to
mineral diesel, fuel economy, power and torque may be somewhat lower.
Mixtures above B2 provide excellent fuel lubricity, especially in low
sulphur fuels.
In addition to the South African SABS standard SANS 1935:2004, various
International Fuel Standards exist for FAME as a biodiesel (ASTM PS 121,
EN 228) (CIC Report 2006 a).

2
FAME is produced using methanol as a reaction agent. When ethanol is used instead of methanol, the
product is fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE).
11

Figure 3: The Biodiesel Technology Pathway

Wholesale,
niche/retail liquid
fuel buyers
M
a
r
k
e
t
Seed cake
buyers
Household liquid
energy buyers
Oilseed
buyers
C
h
e
m
i
c
a
l

P
r
o
d
u
c
t
s

b
u
y
e
r
s
Oil extraction
(mechanical or
chemical)
Farmer
growing
oilseed crop
Oilseed
Seed cake
Vegetable
oil
Trans-
Esterification
process
Glycerine
Biodiesel
Oil buyers
90%
10%
Logistics
P
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n
Chemical
suppliers /
Importers
Role
Players
Products Processes
Legend
Biodiesel Producer
THE ECONOMICS OF A BIOFUEL VALUE CHAIN

A biofuel economy requires security
of supply of raw material, and
cannot solely rely on agricultural
surpluses. It follows that wildly
fluctuating oilseed prices will be
detrimental to the sustainability of
a biofuel economy. A biofuel
economy therefore requires a
dedicated and stable local
agricultural sector to supply crops
harvests at stable prices (see Box
2).

A biofuel producer requires a stable margin to produce at feasible levels. The biofuel
economy is constrained by agricultural input prices on the one hand (the supply side)
and energy prices on the other hand (the demand side). Modelling done by CIC
International has shown that a biofuel producer requires a margin of at least US$
0.30 per litre for financial feasibility (2007).

The value of the seed cake in the biodiesel value chain is of primary importance in
assessing the economics of this value chain. Because of the relatively low ratio of oil
to oil cake in oil seed, a biodiesel industry is often referred to as a secondary or
waste product industry as the revenue obtained from the seed cake (especially in the
case of soy) is much larger than that obtained from the oil. A biodiesel economy
therefore requires a strong and stable market for seed cake.

A sustainable domestic biofuel economy requires an extensive public private
partnership to guarantee the biofuel producer margin. The agricultural sector and
the energy sector share common characteristics. Both sectors sell commodity
products and are:
Exposed to global commodity price cycles;
Strongly regulated by Government and; and
Vertically integrated in the private sector.

To achieve a successful biofuel economy a country therefore has to align the efforts
of Government and its agents, and the private sector, to guarantee a biofuel
producer margin of at least US$ 0.30 per litre.

It is possible to manufacture biofuel for niche markets in the absence of a domestic
biofuel economy. This includes for instance biodiesel for own use or selling to small
business and households and bio-ethanol gel for selling to households.

Box 2. A biofuel economy requires a
sustained and reliable supply of raw
material at stable prices.

Germany, for example, which produces nearly
40% of world biodiesel, has based its large
biodiesel economy of approximately
US$3,000 million per year on a rapidly
growing canola (rapeseed) production sector.
A biodiesel economy is therefore a rural and
agricultural job creator, based on the
production of oilseed crops such as
sunflower, soy, canola or others.

COUNTRY APPROACHES TO BIOFUEL
International approaches
Before the large-scale production of crude oil products, bio-ethanol and plant oils
were some of the most cost-effective fuels available. With current escalating crude-
oil prices and refinery costs, biofuels once again are becoming cost-effective
alternatives to crude-oil based liquid fuels.

Although a number of small businesses globally have managed to manufacture
biofuel at competitive prices using waste products such as spent cooking oils and
tallow, national strategies for biofuel production have been driven by national needs
for energy security and independence. Agricultural development, balance of
payments concerns and changing WTO regulations on agricultural subsidies and
environmental legislation have also played important roles in various country
strategies.

The major economies are increasingly including biofuel into their energy portfolios
(Table 1). This requires large-scale planting of dedicated biofuel crops. The countries
that lead the world in biofuel production (Brazil and the USA in bio-ethanol and
Germany in biodiesel), have furthermore combined biofuel economy developments
with large-scale agricultural development initiatives and consume large quantities of
agricultural products to support rural economic development. Most countries are
rapidly developing bio-energy strategies, most notably the EU, India and China.

Table 1: Salient features of various country bio-energy strategies
Country Brief Description
Key development
imperative
Institutional Interventions
Brazil
25-year-old sugarcane-
based bio-ethanol industry,
biodiesel industry now
emerging
Agriculture development, fuel
security
Early years: considerable
state grants, tax concessions
and assistance through
Petrobras.
Current: fast tracking of flexi-
fuel vehicles, regulation of the
bio-ethanol fuel blend
between 20-26%
USA
20-year-old maize-based
bio-ethanol industry,
biodiesel industry now
emerging
security
US 14 c/litre tax
concession/import tariff
protection
Germany
10-year-old canola-based
biodiesel industry
Agriculture development,
environmental considerations
Fuel tax concession on
biodiesel = +-US 25 c/litre
India
Industry under
establishment, both bio-
ethanol and biodiesel, very
large Jatropha curcas
initiative
Rural development and
poverty alleviation, fuel
security and environmental
considerations
Government-led
implementation programme
with large R&D, project
development and fiscal
support
Australia
Industry not yet
established, mostly
considering the bio-ethanol
pathway
security, environmental and
health considerations
Government-led
Malawi
25-year-old-sugar-cane-
based bio-ethanol industry,
plantings of Jatropha
security
Government-led
South Africa
Industry not yet
established, considering
bio-ethanol and biodiesel
pathways
Job creation
40% fuel tax concession on
biodiesel (= +-US 7 c/litre)

14
A rapid survey of these country strategies shows that correct public policies are vital
for successful bio-energy development. Promotional activities, fiscal support such as
budgetary grants (funded implementation and R&D programmes, subsidies) and tax
concessions form integral parts of country strategies to support the development of
bio-energy industries. The private sectors in these countries are responding strongly
to these initiatives.

SADC approaches
Aside from the 25-year old bio-ethanol plant in Malawi, the industry as a whole still
finds itself in what may be described collectively as a feasibility phase.

SADC commissioned a study on the feasibility of the production of biofuels in the
SADC region, completed in August 2005. This study concluded in favour of regional
biofuels development and set out a number of policy recommendations (see
Appendix 4).

Press reports reflect strong interest among some governments and private-sector
role players in establishing biodiesel and/or bio-ethanol manufacturing industries
within the SADC region. Diverse policy initiatives are under way, for example,
Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa have recently developed biofuel strategies.
Initiatives are reportedly being investigated in Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia.

There are a number of initiatives under way in most of the Southern African
countries. For example, Zimbabwe has had 20 years or more experience in the
agronomy of Jatropha curcas, and new plantings of Jatropha curcas for biodiesel
production in Namibia, Mozambique and Zambia have been reported.

Within the private sector, Sasol and the Central Energy Fund (SA Government) have
reported feasibility investigations into and the commissioning of biodiesel
manufacturing initiatives. Large maize farming co-operatives are reported to
considering start-up bio-ethanol plants. A number of large commercial farmers and
small farming co-operatives produce biodiesel from sunflower, soy and canola seed.

15
Box 3. The Namibian Bio-oil Energy Roadmap is a good example of alignment of biofuel
projects with national policies (NAB 2006).

The Roadmap is a strategy to achieve the desired contribution of a bio-oil energy industry to
Namibias Vision 2030, including the objectives and activities that must be achieved on the path to
this Vision. However, as the future is by nature uncertain, these objectives and activities take the
form of a schematic plan. This provides the Namibian Bio-oil Energy Committee (NABEC), who will
be tasked with the implementation of the Roadmap, the flexibility in decision-making that will be
required during the roll-out of the Roadmap.

The Roadmap aligns with national development strategies, including economic growth, poverty
reduction, food security and energy supply goals. It plans for an energy-intensive economy into the
foreseeable future with a large dependence on electricity, liquid fuel and other household energy
sources and a crude oil price remaining at US$60-70/barrel.

It assumes that sustainability, biodiversity protection and the eco-tourist economy of Namibia are
non-negotiable and may not be detrimentally affected by the development of a bio-oil energy
industry. It assumes that despite predicted urbanisation in Namibia, the needs of the rural
population will continue to require urgent attention and that HIV/Aids, especially the fate of Aids
orphans, will dominate rural development issues.

STEP 2: ALIGN THE BIOFUEL PROJECT TO COUNTRY POLICY AND
DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY

INTRODUCTION
Biofuel projects should align with the policies of the host country. Such alignment
will achieve optimal use of resources and Government support in the form of
subsidies, tax incentives, extension services and other support services and
incentives that may exist. It will also ensure legal compliance.

The overall purpose of any biofuel project should integrate the host countrys
development imperatives, existing policy, and government, NGO, aid-agency and
private-sector resources to mobilise technology and take advantage of market
opportunities.

Importantly, biofuel projects should always comply with relevant national and
international environmental performance standards and achieve certification under
appropriate standards. Examples are the standards of the Forestry Stewardship
Council (FSC), the Rainforest Alliance, and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
(RSPO). In addition, where relevant, projects would need to comply with the country
sustainability criteria established by the country Designated National Authority (DNA)
for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.

For biofuels initiatives are now under way to develop analogous performance and
certification standards, including one originating in the European Union.

Box 3 demonstrates this through the examples the Bio-oil Energy Roadmap for
Namibia.

16
CONDUCT A POLICY FIELD ANALYSIS
The project purpose is determined from a policy field analysis which summarises the
relevant policies and initiatives.

The policies of importance for biofuel projects include:
Specific biofuel policies (Acts, strategies, roadmaps)
Fuel standards
Renewable energy policies (Acts, strategies, roadmaps)
Liquid fuel policies
Agriculture policies
Environmental protection policies
Social and environmental sustainability criteria (European Governments)
Various rural development policies.

Copies of these policies may be obtained from the Internet, the relevant Government
Departments or Ministries, Government of national libraries or the Government
printers.

ESTABLISH A PROJECT SUPPORT NETWORK
A biofuel project is by definition of large scale and complex. A good technical
support network is important in managing various project risks.

Support for various aspects of the biofuel value chain may exist at:
Special country-specific biofuel project offices
Experimental farms
Farming co-operatives
Agricultural extension initiatives
Relevant Government Departments or Ministries
NGOs
Donors
Development agencies
Investors and financiers
Customers and suppliers.

ACHIEVE INSTITUTIONALISATION
Institutionalisation deals with the development and operational framework within
which a biofuel project may be implemented. Proper institutionalisation is one of the
imperatives that will ensure sustainability of biofuel ventures after a biofuel project
funding cycle has completed.

Various institutional models exist through which the biofuel projects may be rolled
out. For each of these models assistance of various degrees of intensity is required.

Examples of such models include for agricultural production:
household or homestead production
commercial farming
Concession farming.

17
Examples of such models include for biofuel manufacturing:
small-scale on-farm manufacturing
medium or large scale manufacturing.

Developing the biofuel industries in SADC will of course face major risks because the
systems are not yet commercialised and there is therefore by definition a lack of
know-how. Special measures will be needed to import, develop and institutionalise
this know-how with respect to production systems and environmental management.

Careful planning and implementation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)
programmes, coupled with know-how management, and a unified extension system
reaching out through NGO and local management forums are required. To the
household, this would be an absolute prerequisite for success.

Government and private sector initiatives are required to establish infrastructure
needed for the programme. Labour (skills and availability) is a concern that has to be
addressed.

Across the world, in both forestry and agriculture, there are good benchmarks for the
design of projects that can achieve sustainability, including with respect to
employment conditions. The essence of these benchmark standards is captured in
the diverse sustainability standards that apply in agriculture and forestry (see section
2.2 above).

STEP 3: PRIORITISE THE APPROPRIATE BIOFUEL PATHWAY
INTRODUCTION
The appropriate biofuel technology pathway is prioritised primarily upon market
conditions and requirements. This is because it is generally easier to build a new
industry on an existing market than having to create a new market.

This section leads the user through important information that will guide in
entrepreneurial decision-making.

ANALYSE THE POTENTIAL BIOFUEL MARKET IN THE COUNTRY
A market is described by the quantity, price and nature of the biofuel manufacturing
opportunity for:
Petrol; in the case of bio-ethanol
Diesel; in the case of biodiesel
Kerosene (paraffin); in the case of biodiesel.

Determine the quantity of the three key liquid fuel markets using IEA
data
Energy statistics for 9 of the SADC countries are available from the International
Energy Agency. The relevant statistics should be extracted as follows:

Click on the URL: www.iea.org/statist/index.htm
Select the country of interest from the drop-down menu entitled
Countries beyond the OECD (if the country of interest is not listed,
proceed immediately as indicated in section 3.2.2 below)
Select the dataset Oil
A table will be displayed, from which the following data must be extracted
as shown in the example for Botswana (2007) below (Table 2):

19
Table 2. Summary of the key liquid fuel markets in Botswana for 2007,
showing fuel consumption for petrol, diesel and kerosene in 1000s of
tonnes. Source: IEA.

Determine the quantity of the three key liquid fuel markets using other
data

Countries not listed on the IEA database are Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius
and Swaziland and must obtain similar information from their relevant Government
Department or Ministry. If this information is not readily available, the crude oil
consumption data for these countries, provided by the CIA World Factbook
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html) may be
used instead.

Patrol, kerosene and diesel consumption may then be determined as demonstrated
in Table 3.

Table 3. Summary of the key liquid fuel markets in Malawi for 2004,
showing fuel consumption for petrol, diesel and kerosene in 1000s of
tonnes. Source: CIA World Factbook and calculations.

Determine the market size for the three key liquid fuel markets
This section follows the steps as described in the Tables below.

Convert liquid fuel consumption from tonnes to litres, using a specific gravity (SG)
for both petrol and diesel of 0.90 as a guideline.

Gather the most recent fuel prices from petrol, diesel and kerosene from the
Government of the country of interest. The fuel prices in a country are determined
by international crude oil prices, the currency strength of the country and
government policy, three factors are variable. If this information is not readily
available, data may be obtained from the regular GTZ publication International Fuel
Key liquid fuel market Petrol Kerosene Diesel
IEA column title
"Motor
gasoline"
"Other
Kerosene"
"Gas/Diesel"
a Total Final Consumption (1000 tonnes) 335 21 276
Industry 0 3 74
Transport 335 0 191
Residential 0 18 0
Commercial and Public Services 0 0 11
Agriculture / Forestry 0 0 0
Fishing 0 0 0
Other Non-Specified 0 0 0
Non-Energy Use 0 0 0
ii Crude Oil Consumption (bbl/day) CIA factbook
iiI Africa consumption factors 0.29 0.05 0.40
a Total Final Consumption (litres) 67 16 128 = ii * iii *159 *365 / (1,000,000)
5500
20
Prices which may be found at http://www.gtz.de/en/themen/umwelt-
infrastruktur/transport/19395.htm .

The table below provides an example for Botswana:

Table 4. Calculation of the key liquid fuel markets in Botswana for 2007,
showing the value of fuel consumption for petrol, diesel and kerosene in
local currency.

** from http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/africa/malawi/currency.htm

Determine the potential wholesale market size for the bio-ethanol and
biodiesel
Engine warrantees impose limits on the volume of biofuel that may be blended into
conventional fuel. Various international standards specify the maximum limits for
the blending of bio-ethanol and biodiesel into petrol and diesel respectively. This is
approximately 10% for bio- ethanol (E10) and 5% for biodiesel (B5). Using these
ratios, the approximate market size for the bio-ethanol and biodiesel may be
estimated:

Table 5. Calculation of the potential wholesale market size for bio-ethanol
and biodiesel in Botswana for 2007.

It is possible to achieve larger market sizes than those calculated by imposing 10%
and 5% blending limits as above. This can be achieved if the fuel-to-energy
conversion technologies are adapted to run on higher concentrations of biofuel.

In the example of Botswana for instance, it may be possible to substitute the
kerosene used by the residential sector, with biodiesel, if the cooking stoves and/or
heaters used are adapted to accommodate biodiesel. This is a market for about
23,000 litres of biodiesel and 135,000 Pula (Table 4).

Plant oils are sold in different markets: high value markets, such as for cosmetics
and special oils command prices in excess of USD 5 per litre; medium value markets,
such as edible oils command prices of about USD 1-2 per litre; and biofuels markets,
where the oil sells at USD 0.50 per litre
3
. In the case of bio-ethanol, the liquor

3
At USD 60-70 per barrel crude oil
b Total Final Consumption (litres) 372,185 23,331 306,636 = a (from Table 4) x 1111
c Fuel price (US$ / liter) 0.90 0.90 0.90 country pump price OR GTZ
d Market size (US$) 334,967 20,998 275,972 = b x c
e Exchange rate (Pula/US$) 6.44 6.44 6.44 **
f Market size (Pula) 2,157,184 135,226 1,777,262 = d x e
Liters Pula
g Bio-ethanol market 37,219 215,718 = b, f x 10%
h Biodiesel market 16,498 95,624 = i + j
i Biodiesel market: Kerosene component 1,167 6,761 = b, f x 5%
j Biodiesel market: Diesel component 15,332 88,863 = b, f x 5%
21
market offers prices higher than those in the biofuels markets but liquor markets are
highly regulated and not open to mass bio-ethanol producers.

Any producer in the field of biofuels therefore faces the challenge that the primary
product (seed, cane, other harvest) and often the secondary product (oil, sugar) may
enter diverse markets, some of which would out-price the biofuels market.

The implication with respect to the grower is that a strategic choice is required. The
biofuels market is large and thus attractive despite the relatively low price. The
grower will therefore need to secure a large volume of sales, to a reliable buyer at
adequate prices in the medium to long term.

Identify niche markets
Niche markets are associated with retail selling opportunities. Examples of such
markets include:
Own use
Electricity generation with diesel
Transport fleets
Farmers
House-hold use.

These markets can only be identified through local country knowledge.

Investigate the biofuel auxiliary markets
There are a number of markets into which biofuel by-products and environmental
services may be sold. These should be investigated.

The biofuel production process yields both liquid fuel and by-products. In the case of
biodiesel manufacturing in particular, finding a market for seed cake is of critical
importance to project viability.

There is also potential for environmental services such as carbon gains and bio-
diversity conservation, as well as for the rehabilitation of degraded land. The Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM) is the mechanism available to SADC countries (Non-
Annex I countries under the Kyoto Protocol) to access the international carbon
market.

IDENTIFY BIOFUEL BUYERS
Potential buyers must be identified or selected once the potential markets are
understood.

The start-up of large infrastructure-based industries is greatly facilitated by, if not
crucially dependent upon, clients who anchor the business. These may be:
Existing biofuel producers
Local oil companies
Farming operations
Transport operators
Exporters
Retail chains
22
Own use.

The transport distances and costs to potential buyers must not be prohibitive, and
must be calculated.

TECHNOLOGY AND THE ECONOMY OF SCALE CONSIDERATIONS
A number of technology characteristics must be considered when selecting a process
technology.

Economy of scale is a technology descriptor which incorporates a large set of
complex production and price variables, which broadly indicates breakeven
production levels. Turn-key biodiesel plants for the manufacturing of FAME
(biodiesel) are feasible at moderate economies of scale (about 10 million litres per
year) (Table 6). Turn-key bio-ethanol plants are feasible at higher economies of
scale (about 75 million litres per year) (Table 6).

A related concept is the potential of a technology to be implemented through an
incremental approach as opposed to a turn-key approach. Whereas the turn-key
approach requires large industrial development, the incremental approach allows for
smaller scale SME development and in some cases even business franchising.
Ideally, plant-oil industry development as envisaged here, requires a technology
pathway that lends itself to both the incremental and turn-key approaches in order to
ensure maximum participation of a wide variety of entrepreneurs, which is the case
for the biodiesel technology pathway.

The technology requirements of growing various crops have to be considered. These
are dealt with in the sections below and in particular in Appendix 1.

Table 6: Technology Characteristics of the Plant-oil Energy Pathway.

Technology characteristics: Natural Sugar
Pathway
Plant Oil Pathway
Maturity Mature Mature
Proprietary Nature Widely available under
licence or free
Widely available under
licence or free
Economy of Scale of Turnkey Technology 75 million litres/year 10 million litres/year
Cost of Turnkey Plant US$ 70 for a 200 million
litre per year capacity
US$ 56 for a 200 million
litre per year capacity
Suitability for small scale applications Not suitable Suitable

23
STEP 4: PRIORITISE THE APPROPRIATE CROPS

INTRODUCTION
Biofuel production may source energy-rich raw materials from the local agricultural
sector or the forestry sector; or may purchase the by-products of other industries; or
may import the raw materials. For the purposes of this Manual, the agricultural
sector provides the resources for biofuel production.

BIOFUEL CROP OPTIONS
A limited number of crops can provide the raw material basis for biofuel production in
SADC (Table 7). This Manual deals with 4 bio-ethanol and 11 biodiesel crops, some
of which are Perennial and some Annual. Some of the crops are widely grown and
are listed in the FAO Food Group database, others are in earlier stages of
commercialisation and are not listed by the FAO. The steps that follow provide
guidelines on the decision of which of these crops may be more suited to a particular
project.

Although a number of additional crops, identified in Table 8, may be a source of
biofuel raw material, these crops either command prohibitively high food prices,
require temperate climates generally not found in SADC and/or are produced in
insufficient production volumes. Although it is not impossible that these crops may
provide a source of biofuel raw material, it is highly unlikely.

The web site of the Center for New Crops and Plant Products, at Purdue University.
NewCROP provides windows to new and specialty crop profiles (see
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/default.html).

Table 7. Fifteen biofuel crops of potential to SADC. These crops are
analysed and discussed in this Manual.

Biofuel type Name Crop type FAO Food Group FAO Code
Bio-ethanol
Sugar Cane Perennial Sugarcrops 1212.99_a
Cassava Annual Roots and Tubers 0714.10
Maize Annual Cereals 1005
Sweet Sorghum Annual Cereals 1007.00
Biodiesel crops
African Oil Palm Perennial Oilcrops 1207.10_a
Coconut Perennial Oilcrops 0801.19
Castor Perennial Not listed Not Listed
Jatropha curcas Perennial Not listed Not listed
Pongamia Perennial Not listed Not listed
Rapeseed, Canola Annual Oilcrops 1205_a
Cotton Annual Oilcrops 1207.20_a
Groundnuts Annual Oilcrops 1202.10
Industrial Hemp Annual Not listed Not Listed
Soybean Annual Oilcrops 1201.00
Sunflower Annual Oilcrops 1206.00

24
Table 8. A number of additional crops may potentially be suited to biofuel
production, but hold marginal opportunities as a result of high food prices,
temperate climate or low production volumes. These crops are not analysed
and discussed in this Manual.

Biofuel type Name Note
Sisal Small volumes
Bio-ethanol
Wheat Commands high food prices
Rice, paddy Commands high food prices
Barley Commands high food prices
Rye Commands high food prices
Oats Commands high food prices
Millet Commands high food prices
Sugar beet Temperate crop with marginal opportunity
Biodiesel crops
Mustard seed and
Field Pennycress
Small volumes commands high food prices
Niger Small volumes
Tung-oil Tree Small volumes
Ximenia caffra,
Pappea capensis,
Sclerocarya birrea,
Manketti nut, Moringa
oleifera, Jatropha
mahafalensis
Tested in the region but remote from
domestication; or oil best for high-value
markets
Safflower Small volumes
Sesame seed Oil best for high-value markets
Olives Oil best for high-value markets
Linseed Oil best for high-value markets

IDENTIFY BIOFUEL THOSE CROPS IN TABLE 7 CURRENTLY FARMED
The FAO database, FAOSTAT, identifies crops grown per country and provides time
series of production volumes and prices. It is advantageous if the target country
already produces crops that may feed either bio-ethanol or biodiesel production.
This means that the knowledge, skills and infrastructure required for growing that
crop already exists in the country. The following steps describe how these statistics
may be accessed, using Malawi as an example:

Go to the URL: http://faostat.fao.org/site/340/default.aspx
In the subject field, select Production Quantity
In the country field, select Malawi
In the year field, select 2003 (+/OR any other years of interest)
In the commodity field, select the relevant Crop
Click on the Show data button to display Production Quantity data
In the subject field, select Area Harvested
Click on the Show data button to display Area Harvested data
In the subject field, select Producer Price
Click on the Show data button to display Producer Price data

In the Malawi example used here, both production and price data are only available
for 2003.

25
Table 9. Estimation of the size of the potential bio-ethanol agri-sector in
Malawi using 2003 data from FAOSTAT.

** from http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/africa/malawi/currency.htm

NEW CROPS: CONDUCT A RAPID ASSESSMENT OF NEW CROP SUITABILITY
In the event where the relevant crops are not yet cultivated in the country of
interest, the following procedure has to be followed.
Introduction
The class of biophysical environment within which the biofuels project is to be
assessed and planned. This classification will provide a basis for choice of crop and
predictions of crop performance, needed for pre-feasibility assessment of the project.
Later, the classification will facilitate the design of research as well as the process of
technology diffusion.

Descriptors of the biophysical environment must be those generally accepted and
employed for these purposes.

Within the SADC region, these are:

the Kppen-Geiger climate classification, and
the FAO/UNESCO soil classification system,
eco-regional classifications, global (FAO) and country.

An outline of each follows below.

Bioclimates: the Kppen-Geiger Climate System
The Kppen-Geiger Climate System is the most widely employed and useful global
classification system (Peel et al. 2007).

The SADC region includes the A, B and C climate classes (see Peel et al. 2007).
Within these, the Tropical Rainforest, Monsoon, and Savannah, the Arid Hot Steppe
(in part: NE Namibia, central Tanzania, SW Zimbabwe, for example) temperate Hot
Summer and Temperate Warm Summer are the main climate types suited to biofuels
production.

The FAO/UNESCO soil classification system
The FAO/UNESCO system classifies the soils of the world and is the most widely used
in Africa (see http://www.fao.org/Wairdocs/ILRI/x5546E/x5546e04.htm). This
Crop Sugar cane Maize Cassava Sorghum
k Production Quantity (tonnes) 2,100,000 1,983,000 1,735,000 45,000 FAOSTAT
l Area Harvested (hectares) 19,350 1,550,000 103,000 60,000 FAOSTAT
m Producer Price (Kwacha) 4,577 13,032 5,990 19,912 FAOSTAT
n Exchange rate (MKW/US$) 143 143 143 143 **
o Size of industry (Million US$) 67 181 73 6 = m/n*k/(1,000,000)
p Yield (tonnes/hectare) 108.5 1.3 16.8 0.8 = k/l
q Income (US$/hectare) 3,474 117 706 104 = o/l*(1,000,000)
26
section outlines the major soils types of the humid and subhumid zones of tropical
Africa.

This system encompasses a hierarchy of categories in six levels:

10 orders
47 sub-orders within the 10 orders
230 great groups for the 47 orders (of these, 140 occur within the tropics)
the other three levels, i.e. subgroups, families and series.

Table 10 lists and describes the 10 soil orders in the system.

Table 10. Brief descriptions of the ten soil orders according to the
FAO/UNESCO Soil Taxonomy. For additional detail regarding tropical Africa
see http://www.fao.org/Wairdocs/ILRI/x5546E/x5546e04.htm .
Soil Order Diagnostic description
Alfisols Soils with a clayey B-horizon and exchangeable cation saturation greater than 50% according
to the standard measure.
Ultisols Soils with a clayey B-horizon and base saturation less than 50%. They are acidic, leached
soils from humid areas of the tropics and subtropics.
Oxisols Oxisols are strongly weathered soils but have very little variation in texture with depth.
Some strongly weathered, red, deep, porous oxisols contain large amounts of clay-sized iron
and aluminium oxides.
Vertisols Dark clay soils containing large amounts of swelling clay minerals (smectite). The soils crack
widely during the dry season and become very sticky in the wet season.
Mollisols Grassland soils formed from gravity-transported (colluvial) materials, with dark surface
horizons and base saturation greater than 50%, dominating in exchangeable Ca.
Inceptisols Young soils with limited profile development. They are mostly formed from colluvial and
alluvial (river-washed) materials. Soils derived from volcanic ash are considered a special
group of Inceptisols, presently classified under the Andept suborder (also known as
Andosols).
Entisols Soils with little or no horizon development in the profile. They are mostly derived from
alluvial materials.
Aridisols Soils of arid region, such as desert soils. [These include the arenosols, the deep free-draining
sands of mainly arid and semi-arid regions and the coasts.] Some are saline.
Spodosols - Soils with a bleached surface layer (A2 horizon) and an alluvial accumulation of
sesquioxides and organic matter in the B-horizon. These soils are mostly formed under
humid conditions and coniferous forest in the temperate region.
Histosols - Soils rich in organic matter such as peat and muck.

Table 11 lists the indicative soil-management problems for each soil type within the
humid tropics, which apply to a large extent also in the other climate regions.

Table 11. Soil-related constraints to intensive agriculture in the humid
tropics. see http://www.fao.org/Wairdocs/ILRI/x5546E/x5546e04.htm.
Soil Nutrient
deficiency
Nutrient
toxicity
Structural
deterioration
Compaction Erosion/
landslides
Effective
rooting
depth
Oxisols &
Ultisols
N. P. Ca Zn Al. Mn Crusting.
hard setting
Surface
and sub-
soil
compaction
Sheet/rill
erosion
Shallow to
medium
Inceptisols P - - - Gully
erosion
-
Entisols P - Single-
grained
- Gully
erosion
Shallow
27
loose
structure
Alfisols P - Crusting.
hard setting
Surface
and sub-
soil
compaction
Accelerated
erosion
Shallow to
medium
Histosols - - - - - -
Spodosols N, P Al Sub-soil
compaction
Sheet
erosion
Shallow to
medium
Mollisols - - - - - -
Vertisols P - Cracking
trafficability
Sub-soil
compaction
Severe
sheet
erosion
Medium

Eco-regions
FAO and its partners have developed a global Agroecological Zones (AEZ) Framework
that enables information management and transfer, which among other things has
been used by IPCC for predicting effects of global change on crop potentials. (See,
http://www.fao.org/Wairdocs/TAC/X5756E/x5756e0j.htm, Annex I, Agroecological
Zones Framework and Database for the Review of CGIAR Priorities and Strategies).

At the highest level, this system recognizes nine classes, as follows:

1. Warm arid and semi-arid tropics
2. Warm subhumid tropics
3. Warm humid tropics
4. Cool tropics
5. Warm arid and semi-arid subtropics with summer rainfall
6. Warm subhumid subtropics with summer rainfall
7. Warm/cool humid subtropics with summer rainfall
8. Cool subtropics with summer rainfall
9. Cool subtropics with winter rainfall.

Within SADC, countries classify as follows in this system:

Warm arid and semi-arid tropics (AEZ 1): parts of Tanzania; Southern
Africa: Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, and parts of Angola, Malawi,
Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Warm subhumid tropics (AEZ 2): East Africa: Parts of Tanzania; Southern
Africa: parts of Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and
Zimbabwe.
Warm humid tropics (AEZ 3): none.
Cool tropics (AEZ 4): Lesotho, and parts of Angola, Ethiopia, South Africa
and Tanzania.

While this and other eco-regional classifications are employed internationally, every
country in SADC has its own, more highly resolved classification, with varied
nomenclature. Developers of biofuels projects should refer to these country
classifications to locate their initiatives.

28
Determine the biophysical setting within which the intended project area
falls
This is done by identifying, for the project area, the Kppen-Geiger climatic area, the
soil class and the eco-region identity.

To determine the accessing the Kppen-Geiger climatic area, access the
website http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdfs/kottek_et_al_2006_A1.pdf
To determine the soil class according to the FAO/UNESCO system access the
website http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/agll/wrb/wrbmaps/htm/soilres.htm and
identify the soil class. Additional soil information on various African countries
is available at the website
http://eusoils.jrc.it/esdb_archive/EuDASM/africa/indexes/idx_country.htm
To establish the eco-region identity, access the website
http://www.fao.org/Wairdocs/TAC/X5756E/x5756e00.jpg

Identify potentially suitable new crops

Select the suitable crop(s) by comparing the climatic and soil crop requirements
specified in Appendix 1 to the biophysical setting determined in the section above.

This desktop analysis serves to identify whether the potential for planting new crops
exist in a project area. It does not replace a locational assessment, conducted by an
experienced agronomist, which should follow.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
FAO crop planning guidelines
Further locational assessment may be done using the FAO Soils Bulletin 73 (FAO
1996). This document can be accessed at the website
http://www.fao.org/docrep/W2962E/w2962e-04.htm#P515_61898 and provides a
detailed procedural guideline for assessing land capability and crop potential. This
provides at least indications for biofuels crops, specifically for established crops, but
the system is readily extended if applied with the information contained in this tool.
However, there is usually local knowledge available to refine such assessments.

Soil erosion and biofuels crops
For any crop the potential for increased rates of erosion, compared with the natural
rate, varies markedly, depending on a number of factors. The most efficient way of
drawing inferences about biofuels and erosion is to deduce from experimentally
derived mathematical models the likely relative erosion rates from different biofuels
cropping system.

The most widely accepted model for predicting erosion is the US Soil Loss Equation
(USLE; a South African modification is known as SLEMSA). The U.S. Department of
Agriculture Handbook (No. 703 of 1997) describes the revised equation (RUSLE) in
great detail.

The formula is as follows:

29
A = R*K*LS*C*P

where A = estimated average soil loss in tons per unit area per year
R = rainfall-runoff erosivity factor, a measure of the erosion force of specific rainfall.
When other factors are constant, storm losses from rainfall are directly proportional
to the product of the total kinetic energy of the storm (E) times its maximum 30-
minute intensity (I)
K = soil erodibility factor
L = slope length factor
S = slope steepness factor
C = cover-management factor, and
P = support practice factor
C, the cover-management factor, embodies the effect of cropping and management
practices on erosion rates. It represents the effects of plants, soil cover, soil
biomass, and soil-disturbing activities on erosion. This factor C measures the
deviation for a given crop from a standard cover type, in this case an area under
clean-tilled continuous-fallow conditions. The Soil Loss Ratio (SLR) is then an
estimate of the ratio of soil loss under actual conditions to losses experienced under
the reference conditions. If a value for C of 0.15 represents a given cropping
system, it signifies that the erosion will be reduced to 15 percent of the amount that
would have occurred under continuous fallow conditions. The values for C in Table
12 indicate the range that has been found experimentally, from natural forest to
different crop cover types. Thus, the erosion rates for primary forest would be 0.1%
of that of continuous fallow conditions, whereas that of a maize or sorghum crop
would be 30 90% of that of the fallow. From this table we see that biofuels crops
would have lowest values of C for tree crops (e.g. coconuts), and highest for cash
crops (e.g. maize).

30
Table 12. Values of the coefficient C in the USLE equation, for different cover
types, including examples of biofuels crops. From FAO 2004.

Vegetative Cover/Crop Value of C
Forest
Primary forest (with dense undergrowth) 0.001
Second-growth forest with good undergrowth and high mulch cover 0.003
Second-growth forest with patches of shrubs and plantation crops of
five years or more
0.006
Industrial tree plantations 0.007 0.01
Mixed stands of industrial tree plantations, eight years or more 0.07
Agroforestry tree species
Mixed stands, five years or more with good cover 0.15
Coconuts, with annual crops as intercrops 0.1 0.3
Oil palm, coffee, cacao with cover crops 0.1 0.3
Grasslands
Imperata or Themeda grassland, well established and undisturbed,
with shrub
0.007
Shrubs with patches or open, disturbed grasslands 0.15
Well-managed rangeland, ungrazed for two years or more 0.01 - 0.05
Savannah or pasture without grazing 0.01
Grassland, moderately grazed, burned occasionally 0.2 0.4
Overgrazed grassland, burned regularly 0.4 0.9
Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) 0.01
Annual cash crops
Maize and sorghum 0.3 0.9
Peanut, mungbean, soybean 0.3 0.8
Cotton 0.14 0.6
Diversified crops 0.2 0.4
Cassava monoculture 0.2 0.8
Cassava with well-established leguminous ground cover 0.01 0.02

This table gives a first approximation of a model to rank biofuels development
options against the alternatives under consideration in the development decision.
The relative effect on soil erosion rates would be linearly related to the estimated
value of C for biofuel crop in question, relative to the value of C of the cover type in
the comparison.

Environmental risk
Various aspects of biofuel industries could pose environmental risks. These should
be identified and managed.

Because biofuels projects require large areas of land, often in the under-developed
world, the particular environmental risks that such a project will generate include the
following:
Loss of biodiversity
Impact on water resources
Soil loss.

Such risks need to be addressed both in the design and planning of the project, as
well as in the management of the established enterprise. For management, the
sustainability schemes outlined in 2.2 above, and their supporting management
systems (e.g. ISO), provide the best instrument to manage risk in the enterprise.
However, for design and planning, the developer will need to achieve two things: (a)
31
design for success in achieving certification, and (b) design and planning for
compliance with appropriate country regional guidelines and standards (e.g.
biodiversity frameworks and EIAs).

Social Benefits
The assessment of crops should include an appropriate form of social impact
assessment. This should at least include a comparative assessment of employment
opportunities. Table 13 provides approximate indications of employment to be
expected from different crop types up to and including harvest of the primary
product. However, project proponents should find and use information appropriate
to the particular country.

Table 13. Indicative levels of employment in different skills categories for
different biofuels crop types. Figures are derived for South Africa where
labour intensity is intermediate. Employment levels elsewhere in Africa are
likely to be higher.

Crop type Employment level (employees/1000 hectares) in each skills category
Skilled Semi-skilled Unskilled Total
Bio-ethanol field crops
4
2 5 15 22
Biodiesel field crops
5
2 5 10 17
Sugarcane
6
5 25 210 240
Energy Plantations
Normal operations
7

Harvesting
8

Total

2

2

10

10

88
250
338

100
250
350

4
Grain SA
5
Grain SA
6
SA Sugar Association
7
Forestry SA
8
Based on coffee harvesting labour rates in South Africa
32
STEP 5: PRIORITISE THE APPROPRIATE CROPS
CATEGORISE THE POTENTIAL CROPS
Categorise potential biofuel crops using the following system:
Definite crops. These are the most likely crops. A Definite crop is one
that is already grown successfully within the country.
Possible crops. These crops are listed as FAO Food Groups (see Table 7)
but new to the country or project area, as defined in section 4.4, and
which, from desktop analysis, are potentially suited to the climate, soils
and eco-region of the project area. Further locational investigation is
required.
Uncertain crops. These are crops not grown in the country and not listed
as FAO Food Groups (see Table 7). Further locational investigation and
international technology transfer are required.
Unsuitable crops. These are the remainder of crops and are considered
unlikely.

CALCULATE POTENTIAL BIOFUEL YIELD
For those crops of interest to the project, the crops categorised as Definite, Possible
and Uncertain, calculate the potential biofuel yield.

This is done using the formula:

Potential Biofuel Yield = Biofuel content (%) x Yield per hectare x Area planted

Where: Potential Biofuel Yield is expressed in tonnes
Biofuel content is approximated in Table 14 below
Yield per hectare is determined from Table 14 below
Area planted is the intended project planting area

Potential Biofuel Yield (tonnes) is converted to volume (litres) by multiplying by a
factor of 1,111.

33
Table 14. Biofuel content per mass of dry product and yield of product per
hectare. These numbers are used to calculate the potential biofuel yield for
each crop. Please see text.

CALCULATE POTENTIAL BIOFUEL VALUE FOR EACH CROP
From the Potential Biofuel Yield volumes calculated above, approximate the potential
biofuel value for the project by crop. This is done by multiplying the Potential Biofuel
Yield (litres) by the fuel price (Table 4).

Crops can now be prioritised based on its both on its suitability categorisation and
potential biofuel yield.

Biofuel type Name
Yield of dry
product per
hectare
Sugar Cane 6% per tonne raw cane from Table 9
Cassava 30% per tonne dry root from Table 9
Maize 40% per tonne maize from Table 9
Sweet Sorghum 30% per dry tonne
sorghum
from Table 9
African Oil Palm 30% per tonne fruit from Table 9
Coconut 70% per nut from Table 9
Castor 40% per tonne seed 750
Jatropha curcas 30% per tonne seed 3,000
Pongamia 30% per tonne seed 3,000
Rapeseed, Canola 35% per tonne seed from Table 9
Cotton 15% per tonne seed from Table 9
Groundnuts 40% per tonne seed from Table 9
Industrial Hemp 30% per tonne seed 750
Soybean 20% per tonne seed from Table 9
Sunflower 35% per tonne seed from Table 9
Bio-ethanol
Biodiesel crops
Biofuel content per mass of dry
product
34
STEP 6: DEVELOP THE BUSINESS CASE FOR THE PROJECT

The business case for a possible project may now be defined by specifying:
The market opportunity
The nature and extent of existing biofuel initiatives in the country
The extent of the potential agricultural project (in hectares)
The list of prioritised crops
The potential biofuel value to be realised.

Project financiers and other investors normally have very specific requirements for
project feasibility assessment. The preceding analyses and assessments provide
information that would be the point of departure for such a business case.

In addition to project finance available from private and institutional investors,
examples of some relevant, new international financial mechanisms are the CDM, the
financial instruments emerging under the UNCCD (United Nations Convention on the
Combating of Desertification) Global Mechanism, as well as bi-lateral instruments
including donor funding.

35
REFERENCES

FAO. 1996. Agro-ecological zoning guidelines. FAO Soils Bulletin 73. Soil Resources,
Management and Conservation Service. FAO Land and Water Development Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, 1996

FAO. 1997. White Maize: a Traditional Food Grain in Developing Countries.
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre. FAO, Rome, 1997.

FAO, 2004. Proceedings of the Validation Forum on the Global Cassava Development
Strategy, Rome, 26 - 28 APRIL 2000. Strategic Environmental Assessment. An
Assessment of the Impact of Cassava Production and Processing on the Environment
and Biodiversity. Volume 5. Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations.
International Fund for Agricultural Development. Rome, 2001. Reprinted 2004.

FAO, 2005. Procedures for weed risk assessment.
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/y5885e/y5885e00.pdf

Fischer, G., van Velthuizen, H., Shah, M. and Nachtergaele, F. 2002. Global Agro-
ecological Assessment for Agriculture in the 21st Century: Methodology and results.
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis Laxenburg, Austria and
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di
Caracalla, Rome, Italy.

Foale, M. 2003. The coconut odyssey: the bounteous possibilities of the tree of life.
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.

Friesen, D.K. and Palmer A.F.E. (editors). 2001. Integrated approaches to higher
maize productivity in the new millennium. Proceedings of the Seventh Eastern and
Southern African Maize Conference, Nairobi, 11-15 February 2001. Published by
CIMMYT and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Nairobi.

GTZ. 2005. Liquid biofuels for transportation in Tanzania. Potential and implications
for sustainable agriculture and energy in the 21st Century. GTZ, Eschborn.

Lal, R. 1995. Sustainable management of soil resources in the humid tropics. The
United Nations University Press.

Li Guiying, Gu Weibin, Alastair Hicks and Keith R. Chapman. Undated A training
manual for sweet sorghum. EcoPort version (revised) by Peter Griffee. FAO Id 172.
Available at http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=172&page=-
2#sectionIndex

Olsen J.K. 2004. An information paper on industrial hemp (industrial cannabis).
Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland Government.

Peel, M.C., Finlayson, B.L., and McMahon, T.A. 2007. Updated world map of the
Koppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
Discussions. Vol 4, 439473. www.hydrol-ear th-syst-sci-discuss.net/4/439/2007/

36
Poku, K. 2002. Small-scale palm oil processing in Africa. FAO Agricultural Services
Bulletin 148.

Rajvanshi, A.K., Singh, V. and Nimbkar, N. 2006. Biofuels Promise / Prospects.
Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). Phaltan-415523, Maharashtra.
Posted at: http://www.google.com/search?q=Biofuels+
+Promise+/+Prospects,+Anil++Kumar++Rajvanshi&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8. Posted
2006.

Reddy, B.V.S., Ramesh, S., Reddy, P.S., Ramaiah, B., Salimath, P.M. and Kachapur,
R. Undated. Sweet Sorghum a potential alternate raw material for bio-ethanol and
bio-energy. ICRISAT, Andhra Pradesh, India.
http://www.icrisat.org/Biopower/BVSReddySweetSorghumPotentialAlternative.pdf

Reynolds, S.G. 1995. Pasture-cattle-coconut systems. FAO, RAP Publication 1995/7
AF298/E.

Theron, J.G. 2002. A framework for the development of new crops industries in
South Africa. P. 8185. In: J. Janick and A. Whipkey (eds.), Trends in new crops and
new uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA.

UN-Energy, 2007. Sustainable bioenergy: a framework for decision makers. Available
at ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1094e/a1094e00.pdf.

USDA. 2000. Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status and Market Potential.
AGES No. (AGES001) 43 pp, January 2000.

Wani, S.P. and Sreedevi, T.K. Undated. Pongamias journey from forest to micro-
enterprise for improving livelihoods. International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics, Andhra Pradesh, India.
http://www.icrisat.org/Biopower/Wani_Sreedevi_Pongamiajourney.pdf

APPENDIX 1: CHOICE OF SPECIES

PREFACE
This Appendix specifies the species to consider in a biofuels development initiative in
SADC.

This Appendix relies in general on sources in the Handbook for Energy Crops at
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/, but also the database on new
crops at the same URL. However, for each crop certain specific sources are useful,
and these are specified below.

38
Common name Scientific
binomial
Family Origin Biofuels
technology
pathway(s) to
which fitted
Cropping system FAO AEZ to which fitted
Sugarcane Saccharum
spp.
Poacaeae Africa-Eurasia Bio-ethanol Energy plantation, industrial and outgrowers Tropics, subtropics
Cassava Manihot
esculenta
Euphorbiace
ae
South America Bio-ethanol Field crop Tropics
Maize, corn Zea mays Poacaeae Central America Bio-ethanol Field crop Tropics, subtropics and
temperate
Sweet Sorghum Sorghum
bicolor (L.)
Moench var
sweet
Poacaeae Africa Bio-ethanol Field crop Tropics, subtropics (and
temperate?)
African Oil Palm Elaeis
guineensis
Arecaceae West Africa,
occurring
between Angola
and Gambia
Biodiesel Energy plantation, industrial and outgrowers Tropics, subtropics
Coconut Palm Cocos nucifera Arecaceae Controversial:
south Asia, or
northwestern
South America.
Biodiesel Energy plantation, industrial and outgrowers,
multiple use plantations
Tropics
Castor bean Ricinus
communis
Euphorbiace
ae
SE
Mediterranean, E
Africa
Biodiesel Field crop or optionally, energy plantation,
industrial and outgrowers
Tropics, sub-tropics and
temperate
Physic Nut Jatropha
curcas
Euphorbiace
ae
Biodiesel Energy plantation, industrial and outgrowers,
Tropics, sub-tropics
Pongamia,
Pongam Tree,
Indian Beech
Pongamia
pinnata
Fabaceae India Biodiesel Energy plantation, industrial and outgrowers,
Tropics, sub-tropics
Rapeseed,
Oilseed Rape,
Canola
Brassica napus
variety
Brassicaceae Eurasia Biodiesel Field crop Tropics, subtropics and
temperate for non-
hibernating form
Cotton Gossypium
hirsutum,
Gossypium
barbadense
and other
species of
Gossypium
Malvaceae Tropical and
subtropical
regions around
the world
Biodiesel Field crop Tropics, subtropics and
temperate
Groundnut Arachis
hypogaea
Fabaceae South America Biodiesel Field crop or inter-planted in plantations Tropics, subtropics and
temperate
Industrial hemp Cannabis
sativa L. subsp.
Bio-ethanol and
biodiesel
Field crop Tropics, sub-tropics
39
Common name Scientific
binomial
Family Origin Biofuels
technology
pathway(s) to
which fitted
Cropping system FAO AEZ to which fitted
sativa var.
sativa
Soybean Glycine max Fabaceae Eastren Asia Biodiesel Field crop Tropics, subtropics and
temperate
Sunflower Helianthus
annuus L.
Asteraceae North America Biodiesel Field crop Temperate, Subtropics

The following sections contain brief fact sheets and pointers to sources of detailed information that may be accessed to make a
choice of species for a project, against the framework of information that would be generated in the steps to follow in this guide.
40
CROPS FOR THE BIO-ETHANOL PATHWAY
Sugar cane
See also http://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/sugar.htm and
http://www.fao.org/AG/aGL/AGLW/cropwater/sugarcane.stm.

Introduction
Sugar cane includes of six species of perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum L., two
wild species, S. spontaneum L. and S. robustum Brandes & Jeswiet ex Grassl, and four
cultivated species, S. officinarum L., S. barberi Jeswiet, S. sinense Roxb., and S. edule
Hassk. The four cultivated species are complicated hybrids, and all intercross readily. All
commercial canes grown today are inter-specific hybrids.

Climate and soils
Cane sugar is grown primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. The highest latitudes
at which cane is grown is in South Africa, at approximately 30 degrees S. Sugarcane
cultivation requires a minimum of 600 mm of annual rainfall, but commercially viable
yields require at least 1200 mm, preferably 1500 mm, if not from rain then from
irrigation. A long growing season is essential for high yields. Optimum temperature for
sprouting (germination) of stem cuttings is 32 to 38C. Optimum growth is achieved
with mean daily temperatures between 22 and 30C. Minimum temperature for active
growth is approximately 20C. For ripening, however, relatively lower temperatures in
the range of 20 to 10C are desirable. Sugarcane does not require a special type of soil,
though intensive cultivation is needed in all cases, which also serves to overcome
limitations in soils such as vertisols. Best soils are those that are more than 1 m deep.
The optimum soil pH is about 6.5 but sugarcane will grow in soils with pH in the range of
5 to 8.5.

Productivity and yields
Sugar cane yields up to 10 tonnes of sucrose/ha/yr, and 35 tonnes/ha in dry mass.
Recovery of raw sugar from cane varies from 11-13 percent. Some current breeding
programmes focusing on biofuel claim substantial increases in yields of both sucrose and
dry matter.

By-products of biofuels production
The most important by-product of sugar production is bagasse, the fibrous residue left
after the juices are extracted from the cane. It is the main source of fuel in sugar
factories. It can also be used in making paper, cardboard, fibre board, and wall board,
and in future would be available for the lignocelluloses pathway.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Sugar cane production on any scale requires high inputs. Propagation is through stem
cuttings of immature canes 8-12 months old, usually called "setts". It takes 12,500 -
20,000 setts to plant one hectare. Sugar cane is a perennial crop which usually produces
crops for about 3-6 years before being replanted. The first crop is called the "plant crop"
and takes 9-24 months to mature. The cane is cut close to the ground because the lower
stem has the highest sugar content and it aids in ratooning, i.e. resprouting after this
first crop. Ratoon crops take about one year to mature. As many as four or more ratoon
crops may be produced before replanting is necessary, mostly due to the slow decline in
yields. Sugarcane has high nitrogen and potassium needs and relatively low phosphate
requirements, or 100 to 200 kg/ha N, 20 to 90 kg/ha P and 125 to 160 kg/ha K for a
41
yield of 100 ton/ha cane, but application rates are sometimes higher. The cane is
harvested by hand or mechanically. Hand harvesting accounts for more than half of the
world's production, and is especially dominant in the developing world. When harvested
by hand, the field is first set on fire. A skilled harvester can cut 500 kg of sugarcane in
an hour. With mechanical harvesting, a sugarcane combine cuts the cane at the base of
the stalk, separates the cane from its leaves, and deposits the cane into a cart while
blowing the cut leaves back onto the field. Such machines can harvest 30 tonnes of cane
each hour, but cane harvested using these machines must be transported to the
processing plant rapidly; once cut, sugarcane begins to lose its sugar content, and
damage inflicted on the cane during mechanical harvesting accelerates this decay.

b. Technical support
Within the region, best technical support would come from large companies, and the SA
Sugar Association.

c. Management of pests, diseases and other biotic factors
There are many diseases and pests which may affect sugar cane, including over 100
fungi, 10 bacteria, 10 viruses and about 50 species of nematodes. Wherever the crop is
grown intensively virulent forms of certain pathogens are chronic. This requires periodic
replacement of susceptible varieties with resistant or tolerant varieties. Stem-borers are
the most destructive insects of sugar cane. Biological control, using natural parasites, is
the most effective control for these.

42
Cassava

Introduction
Cassava is a perennial woody shrub, grown as an annual. All plant parts contain
cyanogenic glucosides with the leaves having the highest concentrations. The plant
products of cassava therefore need processing before safe human consumption, which is
readily done. The tubers quickly lose quality on harvesting. For additional information,
see FAO (2004) and Dunstan Spencer and Associates, Cassava in Africa: past, present
and future.

Climate and soils
Cassava is produced between 30o N and S latitude, and up to an altitude of about 1800
m asl near the equator. It grows best in a rainfall regime with well-distributed rainfall of
1000-1500 mm per year and a mean air temperature of 25-29C. It tolerates drought
and low soil fertility, but not frost. It can tolerate semi-arid conditions with rainfall as low
as 500 mm. In Africa, 40-45% of cassava is grown in both the humid and seasonally dry
tropics, and with 10-15% in the semi-arid tropics. Cassava can grow on a wide range of
soils, with pH from 4.0 to 8.0. In Africa, most cassava is grown on Oxisols, Ultisols and
Entisols. It is best adapted to well-drained, light-textured, deep soils of intermediate
fertility.

Level of commercialisation or technological development
Recently, breeding programmes have resulted in a diversity of cultivars for different
environments and for resistance to diverse pests and diseases. However, each growing
region has its own special clones with farmers growing several different ones in a field.
This is a medium-technology crop, with little mechanisation, where experienced farmers
can produce well practising independently, but where support from national or
international research and extension programmes is ideal.

Under the most favourable conditions, yields of fresh roots can reach 90 t/ha per year
though average world yields from mostly subsistence agricultural systems are 9.8 t/ha.

Animal feed.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
The cuttings are planted by hand in moist, prepared soil. Typical plant spacing is 1m by
1m. Weeds must be controlled during the first few months. Although cassava can
produce a crop with minimal inputs, optimal yields are recorded from fields with average
soil fertility levels for food crop production and regular moisture availability. Fertiliser is
only applied during the first few months of growth. Plants are ready for harvest as soon
as there are storage roots large enough to meet the requirements of the consumer,
typically as soon as eight months after planting. Plants are harvested by hand, but
mechanical devices are in development in Brazil.

The largest germplasm collection is housed at the International Center for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia. The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
(IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria maintains a germplasm collection for African needs. The largest
43
national collection is in Brazil under the direction of the Brazilian Agricultural Research
Network (EMBRAPA). All three institutions have breeding programs.

c. Management of pests, diseases and other biotoc factors
Various diseases, such as the mosaic disease, can be problematic. The selection of
healthy, disease-free and pest-free propagules is essential.

Several pests, including the mealybug (for which biological control agents are available),
the green spider mite, require control.

44
Maize

See also FAO 1997; Friesen and Palmer 2001.

Introduction
The maize plant is a warm-weather annual grass, deep-rooted but requiring abundant
soil moisture for best development. Most varieties of maize require 100 to 140 days from
seeding to full ripeness of the kernels though some kinds will ripen in as little as 80
days.

Climate and soils
Maize is successful under diverse climates, from temperate to tropical, requiring
however adequate soil moisture during germination, growth and flowering. Good
production is possible on diverse soils, though maize usually requires fertilisation that is
appropriate to soil nutrient status and maize variety.

Nearly all the maize now grown in commercial farming in Africa is of hybrid varieties.
Seed is obtained by crossing inbred lines, which are obtained by self-pollination through
several generations. This results in reduced vigour and yield but increased uniformity in
the inbreds. Properly selected and adapted hybrid corn varieties produce higher yields
and more uniform plants and ears than the open-pollinated varieties formerly used. In
the majority of countries, open-pollinated varieties are still the most common type of
seed used, perhaps 60 percent of the total maize area in the developing world. Although
national and international breeding programmes have considerably increased the yields
of open-pollinated varieties over the past, they remain below those of hybrids. Yields of
hybrids, in fact, can exceed those of landraces (open-pollinated varieties) by 30-100
percent, with an average of perhaps 40-50 percent. When hybrids have replaced
improved open-pollinated varieties, the yield advantage of hybrids has usually been no
more than 15-25 percent.

Maize yields about 1.0 to 10.0 tonnes per ha per year, rainfed, the latter in climates with
annual rainfall of about 1000 mm per year or more. The average maize yield in the
industrialized countries of the world is eight tons per hectare, but in the developing
world less than three; in the SADC region it varies between 0.9 tonnes (for Mozambique)
and 2.8 for South Africa, according to FAOSTAT for 2005.

Animal feed.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Overall, maize is a high-technology crop. In developing countries, including those where
most of the world's white maize is produced, soil fertility management is probably the
most important (and costly) crop-management problem. Within this area, overcoming
nitrogen deficiencies through inorganic or organic means, or through improving
nitrogen-use efficiency in maize varieties or hybrids, is by far the most widespread
concern. Also important are correction of soil acidity, and related problems of
phosphorous or zinc availability.
A close second crop-management problem in maize production is management of
moisture stress, best addressed through irrigation though mostly managed through
45
choice of germplasm, proper tillage, and the timing of sowing, however, moisture
availability over the season is subject to considerable uncertainty when the growing
period begins. In general, the third most important management problem is weed
control, perhaps followed by plant density management. Complicating the development
of management options is the possibility that all four general factors mentioned here,
soil fertility, moisture availability, weeds and plant density, are likely to interact with one
another. In many instances in developing countries, yield gains from crop management
changes in maize, both white and yellow, could be greater than those from varietal
change alone.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has a global maize-
breeding programme directed at developing countries. CYMMIT is the leading
international source of technology and information on maize. This combines with
location-specific crop management research and the extension efforts are required to
disseminate effective crop management information and maize varietals to farmers,
especially small farmers.

In general, however, the greatest constraint to the development and diffusion of
improved maize hybrids and varieties to farmers is the concomitant development of
efficient seed industries that supply adequate quantities of quality seed at prices that
encourage optimal levels of seed use. A well-functioning seed industry is also
characterized by a sufficient variety of products, and seed that is available to farmers
when and where it is needed. In Africa, firms such as Pannar Seeds have now
established a wide reach across the continent.

c. Disease management
Maize is subject to diverse diseases, requiring intensive management.

d. Management of insects, pollinators, and birds
Maize is subject to diverse pests, requiring intensive management.

46
Sweet sorghum

See also http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/gbase/data/pf000319.htm;
http://www.icrisat.org/text/coolstuff/crops/gcrops2.html; and Li Guiying, Gu Weibin,
Alastair Hicks and Keith R. Chapman. Undated A training manual for sweet sorghum, as
well as the SADC/ICRISAT Sorghum and Millet Improvement Program at
http://www.icrisat.org/.

Introduction
Sorghum is a vigorous grass that grows to between 0.5 and 5.0 m in height. It is usually
an annual. The germplasm includes sweet as well as grain types. It probably originated
in Ethiopia and has spread to other parts of Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Australia and
the United States. In common with other Sorghum spp., it can contain lethal amounts
of prussic acid. In sweet varieties, the main use is lies in the sugar content in the stalk.

Climate and soils
Sorghum is adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions from 40N and S, and
is particularly adapted to drought. It grows well in an annual rainfall range of 400-750
mm. It is grown in areas which are too dry for maize. The great advantage of sorghum is
that it can become dormant under adverse conditions and can resume growth after
relatively severe drought. Early drought stops growth before floral initiation and the
plant remains vegetative; it will resume leaf production and flower when conditions
again become favourable for growth. Late drought stops leaf development but not floral
initiation. Sorghum is very susceptible to frost, but thick-stemmed, standing, sweet
fodder sorghum will retain stem juiciness and sweetness for some time after the leaves
are killed. Sorghum can be grown successfully grown on a wide range of soil types. It is
well suited to heavy Vertisols found commonly in the tropics, where its tolerance to
waterlogging is often required, but is equally suited to light sandy soils. It tolerates a
range of soil pH from 5.0 to 8.5 and is more tolerant to salinity than maize. It is adapted
to poor soils and can produce grain on soils where many other crops would fail. It is
also tolerant to waterlogging and can be grown in high-rainfall areas. It is, however,
primarily a crop of hot, semi-arid tropical environments with 400 600 mm rainfall that
are too dry for maize. It is also widely grown in temperate regions and at altitudes of up
to 2300 m in the tropics.

There are numerous cultivars in use throughout the world and enquiries about the best
cultivars and varieties for specific conditions should be made to agronomists within each
country. At the global level, ICRISAT is involved in diversification of sorghum breeding
populations, and ultimately cultivars available to farmers, through the incorporation of
traits and genetic materials that have not previously been used in crop improvement. It
is involved in development of finished cultivars for direct release to farmers in specific
countries.

Sweet sorghums yield 25 to 75 tonnes/ha green matter, according to soil fertility and
rainfall. The grain sorghums yield 300-2 000 kg grain per hectare in India and Africa
under rain-fed conditions, and 4 500-6 500 kg/ha under irrigation for hybrid types in the
United States and Australia.

Animal feed.
47
Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Sorghum requires full seed-bed preparation for good performance.
The seed is often planted by hand hoe and covered, the spacing depending on expected
rainfall. Small hand drills are available as a first step in mechanization; sophisticated
grain and fertilizer drills for precision placement are used in advanced agriculture. For
grain production inter-row cultivation is frequently used. Where rows are close, weeds
are suppressed by the shade of the crop canopy, but thorough seed-bed preparation is
needed before planting to ensure a low weed population. Spraying with a pre-emergence
weed-killer completely controls most weeds. Fertiliser requirements are determined by
soil type and rainfall. A basic dressing of NPK may be required, and the crop usually
responds well to additional dressings of nitrogen during growth. A fallowed black clay
may not need fertilizer. Rotation with a leguminous crop can give low-cost fertility build-
up, for example, gum arabic (Acacia senegal) in the Sudan.

The SADC/ICRISAT Sorghum and Millet Improvement Program would be the best
starting point for technical support in the SADC region.

c. Management of disease, pests and other biotic factors
There are numerous diseases of sorghum. All Sorghum spp. seed should be dusted with
a combined fungicidal/insecticidal dust before planting.
Grasshoppers would appear to be the worst pest, and feral pigs can cause havoc. Grain
pests include the sorghum midge, Contarinia sorghicola, whose larvae feed on the
developing seeds. Bird damage is also important and in Africa the weaver bird, Quelea
quelea, causes major losses. The parasitic weed Striga is troublesome. It can be
controlled by using a trap crop of Sudan grass, which is ploughed in after two months'
growth.

By products of biofuels production
Animal feed.
48
CROPS FOR THE BIODIESEL PATHWAY
African Oil Palm
See also http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/ac126e/ac126e05.htm and
http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3647e/W3647E04.htm. Cultivation of palm oil should
comply in planning, design and management with the guidelines, criteria and indicators
of sustainability as established through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
See http://www.rspo.org/download_list.aspx?catid=4&ddlID=16 for documents that set
out the RSPO system (i.e. the RSPO Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Palm Oil
Production and the RSPO Certification Systems).

Introduction
The African Oil Palm, Elaeis guineensis (Jacq.), has a vertical trunk and the feathery
fronds. Every year, 20 to 25 new fronds develop in continuous whorls at the apex of the
trunk. The fruit bunches develop between the trunk and the base of the new fronds.
Although new plantations start to bear at three years, generally the first commercial
crop requires between five and six years. The palms continue to produce for 2530
years, though they may be replaced once too high to be harvested. Once a plantation
reaches full production, a new inflorescence is produced every 15 days. It weighs
between 15 and 20 kg and can contain up to 1500 individual palm fruits of between 8 to
10 grams each.
The African Oil Palm is a West African species that is a traditional source of vegetable fat
and oil, palm wine and some regionally important non-wood forest products. During the
twentieth century the oil palm became an important plantation crop, providing oil from
its mesocarp, and palm kernel oil from its nuts. The oil palm gives the highest yield of oil
per unit area of any crop and produces two distinct oils - palm oil and palm kernel oil -
both of which are important in world trade. There are two distinct types of oil palm: the
dura and the pisifera. The nut of the dura type of oil palm has a thick and hard shell
while the pisifera type has a small kernel, with no shell, but rather surrounded by a
matrix of fibre. When a pisifera male is crossed with a dura female, a tenera type of
fruit is produced; its shell is of intermediate thickness. Currently, it is this type of oil
palm that is most widely grown in plantations.
The African oil palm produces two main commercial products: raw or crude oil,
approximately 22% of the weight of the fresh fruit bunch, and the palm nuts which
represent 46%.

Climate and soils
For optimum annual production the African oil palm requires a minimum of 1600 mm per
year of rain through the seasons, a relative humidity no less than 75%, minimum and
maximum temperature of between 17 and 28C., a total of 2000 hours of light and soil
depth of 1.0 m.

See below.

The oil palm, which yields about 20t/ha/yr of fresh fruit bunches, is capable of producing
between three to five t/ha per year of crude oil from the fruit (mesocarp) and an
additional 0.6 to 1.0 t/ha from the palm kernels. Its productivity is influenced by
climate, soil type, genetic factors, maturity, rainfall, fertilization and the harvest period.
Modern high-yielding varieties developed by breeding programs, under ideal climatic
conditions and good management, are capable of producing in excess of 20 tonnes of
bunches/ha/yr, with palm oil in bunch content of 25 percent. This is equivalent to a yield
49
of 5 tonnes oil/ha/yr (excluding the palm kernel oil), which far outstrips any other source
of edible oil.

By-products
When the nut is processed, it yields palm kernel oil and palm kernel meal. The two main
industrial residues, the oil-rich fibrous residue and the palm-nut shells, are used as
sources of energy to run the factory. The empty fruit bunch is normally incinerated and
the ash is returned to the plantation as fertilizer. In Malaysia an MDF plant based on oil
palm fruit bunches is in operation with a daily production capacity of 55 m3. Palm fronds
from the plantations are also burnt for heat generation, or used for mulching in the
plantations. Palm oil mill effluents may have a future for biogas generation. In Malaysia,
considerable research has begun on more unconventional uses for oil palm stems.
Studies range from cattle food to ammonia plastification, from converting stems into
particleboard, cement and gypsum-bonded panels to MDF. The latter is the first of the
technical processes developed at the laboratory level to be implemented in an industrial
scale. In the long run oil palm stems will find their way into industrial utilization even if
just because of the sheer volume of biomass available. However, this will be mainly in
the form of fibre-based panels or reconstituted fibre.

Management and other input requirements

a. Agronomic
Oil palms are grown on a 25-30 year rotation before being removed and replanted. At
felling the average palm has reached a height of 12-15 m with a stem diameter at breast
height of 45 cm. An average 30-year old oil palm has a stem volume of about 1.6 m3.
After felling palm stems are mostly shredded on the spot, dried, and either left to decay
or burnt. Disposal is a cost and decaying stems often leads to insect infestations, with
added expenses. Because the fruits are perishable and lose weight once harvested,
farmers need prompt payment and evacuation of their fruits. The integration of pig
production within the oil palm industry offers a certain degree of flexibility in the entire
enterprise.

The World Agroforestry Centre provides a global focus for oil-palm research, while
Malaysia has a programme of long standing through the Malaysian Oil Palm Research
Institute. CIRAD in France is another centre of expertise.

Basal stem rot is a major problem in SE Asia, while oil palm is also prone to soil fungi in
this region, a problem managed through genetics and seedling inoculation. Blast rot or
bud rot disease is one example of fungal problems in Africa.

d. Management of pests
A number of insects are potentially damaging to oil palm in various parts of the world
including: palm weevils (Rhynchophorus spp.), rhinoceros beetles (Oryctes spp.),
weevils (Strategus aloeus, Temnoschoita quadripustulata), leaf-miners
(Coelaenomenodera elaeidis, Hispolepis elaeidis, Alurunus humeralis), slug caterpillar
(Parasa viridissima), nettle caterpillar (Setora nitens) and bagworms (Cremastophysche
pendula, Mahasena corbetti, Metisa plana). The best approach offered is integrated pest
management.

e. Palm oil mill effluent and palm oil sludge
Disposal of palm oil mill effluent, the final liquid discharge after extracting the oil from
the fresh fruit bunch, has proved a major environmental problem. This effluent contains
50
soil particles, residual oils and suspended solids but only 5% of dry matter, amounting to
about 0.5 tonnes per tonne of fresh fruit. This requires effective effluent management,
for which several solutions have been developed and effectively implemented in
Malaysia, at least.
51
Coconut Palm
For additional sources, see for example, see Reynolds, 1995; Foale 2003.

Introduction
The coconut palm is a monocotyledon; it has an erect pole-like stem and symmetrical
crown; the trunk is 30-40 cm in diameter sometimes reaching a meter at the base.

Climate and soils
The coconut grows and produces well in coastal environments between the latitudes of
about 25 deg N and S.

There is a large number of coconut varieties in cultivation, including the tall and
dwarf forms. Many breeding programmes around the world focus on increased yields of
its various products, as well as disease and pest resistance.

Oil is extracted by passing shredded and heated copra through very powerful presses.
This yields up practically all the oil present, amounting to more than 60% of the dry
weight of the feedstock.

By-products
The residue of 3540% has around 20% protein and 10% residual oil content, and is
known as organic copra cake or copra meal. is feedstuff has found a valuable niche in
the market for cattle feed, for organic beef production, and horse feed. In cattle, it
delivers a similar weight gain to feeds with a much higher protein content. Working and
racing horses show sustained energy and tend to lose some weight, which also enhances
performance. Coconut fibre (or coir, from the Malay kayar, for cord) is spun to form
yarn, which in turn is twisted into durable ropes that match ropes. The coconut shell
can be used as domestic fuel. The brittle, high-density, woody material of the shell is
rich in hydrocarbons and burns with a fierce heat. With controlled burning, coconut shell
can be converted to high- quality charcoal, which is prized as a feedstock for making the
activated carbon needed in much industrial chemistry. For example, activated carbon is
used in the separation of gold fragments from the waste material in pulverised gold ore.
The shell is also ground to a fine powder and used both for lubricating paste for rock
drills and as the fuel component in mosquito coils. Polished shell is used to make
buttons and household utensils, including ladles, small bowls and drinking vessels, and a
great variety of ornaments. The trunk is a valuable source of structural and ornamental
timber.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Coconut is grown in plantation, either as a single-species crop, or, more frequently, in
some form of mixed cropping. This may involve cattle or other livestock, but often
involves intercropping with food crops, such as cassava, sweet potatoes, maize,
sorghum, legumes, or fruit such as bananas.

Seed is recalcitrant, i.e. germination occurs immediately on ripening and no effective
storage is possible. Seed germinate freely in the nursery. The technology of tissue
culture for this species is well advanced, and is appropriately applied in propagation of
selected lines.

52
The key determinant of management in the plantation is the espacement of trees at
planting. Escapement depends on the cropping system and the variety of coconut
employed. Dwarf varieties may be grown at denser espacements than the tall varieties.
The planting distance (generally in the range 7 m 7 m to 10 m 10 m for tall
cultivars, with an average planting density of around 130180 palms ha
-1
, and as close
as 5.5 m 5.5 m for dwarf palms giving planting densities as high as 400 palms per ha,
for coconuts even at high nut yields of 100 nuts per tree per year and 200 nuts tree.
Mixed cropping may often require wider espacement. Espacement affects nut yields; in
one trial, yields in mature palms ranged from 13,000 nuts per ha per year at 239 trees
per ha, to 10,500 at 128 trees per ha.

There are centres of technical expertise around the tropical world. FAO provides the best
entry point to these sources.

Many pests and diseases affect coconut palms. More than 100 species of insects cause
yield losses. Diseases include Phytophthora palmivora which causes early nut drop of
coconut in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, and yellowing blight, which reduces vigour
and yield. Control based on measures other than agrichemicals are the best. Selection
and breeding vital, while biocontrol is possible in some cases. Proper plantation
management and replacement of stands with select varieties at maturity is also a vital
necessity.

Bees are abundant and useful pollinators, and their honey can augment income.
Some birds, such as woodpeckers and weavers, can be troublesome.

53
Castor bean
See also www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Ricinus+communis (Plants for a future: A
resource centre for edible and other useful plants) and
http://www.dovebiotech.com/pdf/CASTOR%20BEAN%20(RICINUS%20COMMUNIS)%20
-%20BIODIESEL.pdf.

Introduction
The castor bean is an evergreen shrub growing to 1.5 m and more, normally perennial
but sometimes grown as an annual. It is a native of tropical Africa but has naturalized in
moist tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. The whole plant is very
poisonous, even one seed has been known to be lethal to children, the seedcoat
containing ricin, an extremely lethal poison. The leaves are only mildly poisonous. The
toxic principle is water-soluble so is not found in the oil. Disturbance is required for
successful natural stands of castor bean. The species is an intolerant pioneer. If
disturbance is not repeated, it will be succeeded in a few years by grass, vines, or trees.
Castor bean is competitive and most frequently seen in flood zones, on neglected
farmland, and roadsides.

Climate and soils
Castor bean though originating in the tropics and subtropics succeeds also in temperate
regions, but does not tolerate frost. It requires high temperatures (optimum 20 - 25C,
over 4.5 - 6 months) and low atmospheric humidity to achieve good yields. It tolerates
drought. Castor prefers deep sandy loam soil with a pH of 6, but it can be cultivated on a
wide variety of soils with pH range of 5 - 8. It is highly intolerant of water-logging and
requires free draining soils. In general, castor does not tolerate saline soils though some
varieties do.

There are several breeding programmes around the world, though mainly it seems to
develop varieties for temperate regions. Recent studies and genetic improvements have
increased the oil content of the castor bean from 24 to 48 percent. The plant has also
been bred to mature at a shorter height mostly for production in Europe. There are
breeding programmes for tropical environments under way in India.

Seed yields of around 1 tonne per hectare have been achieved, with exceptional cases of
up t 5 tonnes per hectare. Castor beans contain from 30 to 60 percent oil. Yields under
cultivation vary from 200 to 1,700 kg/ha, depending on variety and site quality horse
pastures, and pinch off flowers of ornamental.

By products
The castor plant has many uses. The seed contains 35 - 55% of a drying oil. As well as
being used in cooking, it is an ingredient of soaps, polishes, flypapers, paints and
varnishes. It is also used as a lubricant and for lighting and as an ingredient in fuels for
precision engines. The oil is used in coating fabrics and other protective coverings, in the
manufacture of high-grade lubricants, transparent typewriter and printing inks, in textile
dyeing (when converted into sulfonated Castor Oil or Turkey-Red Oil, for dyeing cotton
fabrics with alizarine) and in the production of 'Rilson', a polyamide nylon-type fibre. The
dehydrated oil is an excellent drying agent which compares favourably with tung oil and
is used in paints and varnishes. The hydrogenated oil is utilized in the manufacture of
waxes, polishes, carbon paper, candles and crayons. A fibre for making ropes is obtained
from the stems. The leaves have insecticidal and pharmacological properties. Cellulose
from the stems is used for making cardboard and paper.
54
The residual cake is highly poisonous and unless processed to remove the poisons
cannot be fed to livestock. In some countries the cake is used as a fertiliser.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Castor bean is established by direct sowing or from transplants, in rows spaced from 1
to 2 m apart with spacing within the rows of about 0.5 m. When grown as an annual
crop, it takes 5 to 9 months from planting to harvest. Adequate amounts of nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium must be available to produce high yields of castor seed.
Castor beans grow well on slightly alkaline or acid soils. The most important factor in
fertility level is the supply of nitrogen in the soil. Insufficient nitrogen results in reduced
castor bean yields.

Unclear: probably mainly from oil firms.

c. Management of pests, disease and other biotic factors
In Africa there are a great variety of pests, up to 50 species of insect can damage
castor, including grasshoppers, various larvae, and the more serious pests: capsid bugs,
green stink bugs, lygus bugs, Helopeltis. Sucking pests cause damage by puncturing,
rather than actual sucking. Whether these would also be a problem in Europe is
unknown. Diseases seldom do much damage - leaf spot (Cercospora reicinella), Rust
(Melampsora oricini) and Alternaria Leaf spot may occur.

55
Jatropha
Introduction
Jatropha curcas is a small lax tree, reaching a height of 5 m or more. It originates from
Central America, but has been planted around the tropical world since the fifteenth
century.

Climate and soils
Jatropha grows well in subtropical and tropical environments, on a wide range of soils. It
performs well on degraded land, such as abandoned cropland, and o marginal lands of
Tanzania. Successful crop production requires annual rainfall between about 600 mm
and 1000 mm per year, but it performs at least adequately in areas with about 500-550
mm per year, and it withstands long drought periods. It also reported to do well in areas
where the rainfall is only 250 mm, but the humidity of the air is very high.

Jatropha production is evidently largely based upon local landraces though substantial
breeding programmes are under way in India and Central America.

Under the conditions indicated above, yields of seed range from 2 to 4 tonnes/ha per
year.

By-products
The press cake is unsuited to animal feed, being toxic, but may be used or sold as an
organic fertiliser or for energy. The foliage and seed are used in traditional medicine.
The oil has many uses other than for biodiesel.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Jatropha is grown in hedges or plantation, from easily raised nursery seedlings. In
plantation, initial espacement of about 1000 plants/ha appears to be preferred.

b. Harvesting
Harvesting is by hand, and labour-intensive; harvesters can apparently achieve about 30
to 100 kg per person per day.

ICRISAT in India, the Tata Energy Research Institute in Delhi, and Indian biofuels firms
are source of information; the BP-D1 Oils joint venture would be a source of advice in
Africa.

Jatropha in southern Africa is subject to defoliation by a small beetle. This may be
controlled by insecticide, though some reports indicate that the population of the beetle
declines quickly if left alone.

56
Pongamia
See also Wani and Sreedevi (undated) and Streets (1962).

Introduction
Pongamia pinnata is a medium-sized evergreen tree with a spreading crown and a short
bole. The tree is planted for shade and is grown as ornamental tree. It is one of the few
nitrogen-fixing trees producing seeds containing 30-40% oil. The natural distribution is
along the coast, estuaries and riverbanks in India and Myanmar. It is also cultivated
along roadsides, canal banks and open farm lands. It is a preferred species for
controlling soil erosion and binding sand dunes because of its dense network of lateral
roots. Its root, bark, leaves, sap, and flower also have medicinal properties and
traditionally used as medicinal plants. Pongamia has been cultivated in tropical East
Africa since at least 1917 (see, for example, Streets 1962 and GTZ 2005).

Climate and soils
Pongamia tolerates a wide range of climates and soils within the tropics. It tolerates
waterlogging as well as saline and alkaline soils. It withstands harsh climates (medium
to high rainfall). It can be planted on degraded lands farmers field boundaries,
Wastelands / fallow lands and could be grown across the country.

There has evidently been no breeding or other development programme for Pongamia. It
is partly domesticated.

There is no available information on productivity in Pongamia. Its seeds contain 30-40%
oil.

By-products
Press cake as organic fertiliser; diverse traditional medicines.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
No available information; production of seedlings in nurseries for transplanting is
common in India and elsewhere; plantation management as for similar trees is also
apparently common practice in India and elsewhere.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi- Arid tropics (ICRISAT) conducts
research on Pongamia.
57
Canola
Introduction
Canola is a name applied to edible oilseed rape. This plant belongs to the mustard family
along with 3,000 other species. Close relatives of this crop have been cultivated for food
since the earliest recordings of man. Rapeseed has been important to Europe since the
13th century as a source of food and oil for fuel. Rapeseed production became popular in
North America during World War II as a source of lubricants. Its oil has the property of
adhering well to moist metal, making it an ideal lubricant for marine engines.

Climate and soils
Canola is widely adapted, particularly to the cool extremes of the temperate zones.
Canola does best on medium textured, well-drained soils. The crop is tolerant of a soil
pH as low as 5.5 as well as of saline conditions.

This is a highly bred species, there being for example 12 varieties registered in Canada,
where the commercial form of canola was developed during the 1970s.

Yields of seed range up to about 2.5 tonnes per hectare with oil content ranging from 39
to 47%. Average annual yields in South Africa amount to about 1.0 tonnes per ha.

By-products
Canola seed has both high oil content as well as high protein content (about 40% oil and
23% protein) and when the oil is crushed out, it leaves a high-quality, high-protein
(37%) feed concentrate which is highly palatable to livestock

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Canola agronomy requires high-level management of its six main growth stages. Much
of the management of this crop is related to the length of time and plant characteristics
within each of these stages. Stand establishment is very important with canola because
of its lack of early competitiveness. Seeding into a smooth, firm seedbed helps maintain
a uniform seeding depth and even emergence. Seedbed preparation is usually done with
a shallow (4-5 inch) tillage operation. The best weed control practices are tillage,
establishment of a good stand, and weed control in previous crops. Timely harvest of
canola is critical to prevent shattering. When pods first begin to yellow, the crop needs
to be checked on a 3- to 4-day schedule. Harvest maturity can only be determined by
observing the colour of the seed. Rapeseed must be handled and stored carefully.

Within the region, the Small Grains Institute of South Africa would be the best public
source of technical support.

During the germination and the seedling stage it is susceptible to many soil-borne
pathogens. In Canada, seed protectant fungicides are often used.

Many insects, such as the diamondback moth, may infest canola at various stages of its
growth, requiring proper use of insecticides.
58
Cotton
See also http://www.aec.msu.edu/fs2/cotton/index.htm

Introduction
Cotton is grown primarily for fibre, but the oil of the seeds is highly important. The
cotton plant is a rigid herbaceous annual. The seeds consist about half of hull and half of
kernel; the kernels contain 28 to 40 percent oil. Commercial cottonseed contains
approximately 1824% oil, and 45.5% cake or meal.

Climate and soils
Cotton is grown commercially from sea level to 1,200 m, with some perennial forms
found at 1,800 m. A long-season plant, cotton requires a minimum of 180 to 200 frost-
free days of uniformly high temperatures, averaging 2122C. Full sunlight is critical for
proper development. Where rainfall is less than 500 mm annually, irrigation should be
practised. In the region, it is limited to 30S and northward. It suited mainly to Sub-
tropical and Tropical climates, with rainfall ranging from about 500 mm per year
upwards. It is sensitive in any stage to frost. Heavy rains injure plants. Moderate rainfall
is preferable during vegetative growth followed by a dry period to allow the bolls to
mature and be picked. Cotton is tolerant of a wide variety of soils, but thrives best on
deep, friable, moisture-holding soils with good humus supply. Optimum pH is 5.27. It is
frequently grown on Entisols and alluvial Inceptisols, though sometimes on Vertisols.

Cotton is a highly developed crop. Reported from the Middle American, South American,
and African Centres of Diversity, upland cotton or its varieties is reported to tolerate
bacteria, disease, drought, fungus, hydrogen fluoride, high pH, insects, low pH,
nematodes, photoperiod, sand, virus and waterlogging. Hundreds of cultivars are known;
'Auburn 56', 'Bayou', 'Auburn 623 RNR' and 'Darminii' being resistant to rootknot
nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. Varieties are sometimes classed according to fibre
length, as: Long Staple, 'Acala' cultivars; Medium Staple, 'Deltapine' and 'Coker 100
Wilt', and Short Staple, 'Lankart'. Breeding for organic cotton as well as GM cotton for
African conditions is under way

U.S. cottonseed yields are about 800950 kg/ha per year but in general the yield may
be only 140 kg/ha. A metric ton of cottonseed yields ca 160 kg oil, 450 kg meal, 68 kg
linters, 250 kg hulls, and 72 kg trash, waste, and invisible losses. Estimates for India,
based on nationwide surveys, indicate as follows:

rainfed: 463 kg per ha per year of seed, 35 of oil, and
irrigated: 2060 kg per ha per year of seed, 155 of oil.

By products
The meal or press cake left after pressing is a valuable high-protein livestock feed.
Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Cotton is s high-input crop, especially with regard to know-how. See below

In South Africa, the Agricultural Research Council Institute for Industrial Crops, and from
industrial firms.

59
Cotton is subject to a great variety of pests and diseases, especially insects, requiring
intensive management, particularly integrated pest management. GM cotton offers an
alternative.

60
Groundnut
Introduction
The groundnut is an annual herbaceous plant with an unusual habit in bearing its fruit.
The tip of the ovary, bearing from 15 ovules, grows out from between the floral bracts,
bearing with it the dried petals, calyx lobes and hypanthium, creating a unique floral
structurethe peg. The peg quickly turns down toward the soil and thrusts its tip with its
ovules several centimetres into the soil where the tip turns horizontally and develops
into the pod.

Climate and soils
The groundnut grows successfully in a wide range of bioclimates, from temperate to
tropical, and tolerates semi-arid conditions. Suitable for tropics, subtropics and warm
temperate regions, grown from 40S to 40N latitude. Growing period 3 1/25 months
('Chico' matures in 80 days in South Texas). Frost sensitive. Thrives with 5 dm water in
the growing season with most in mid-one-third of season. Grows on light, friable, well-
drained sandy loams, but will grow in heavier soils. Ranging from Cool Temperate Moist
through Tropical Thorn to Wet Forest Life Zones, peanut is reported to tolerate annual
precipitation of 3.1 to 41.0 dm (mean of 162 cases 13.8 dm), annual mean temperature
of 10.5C to 28.5C (mean of 161 cases 23.5C), and pH of 4.3 to 8.7 (mean of 90
cases = 6.5) (Duke, 1981a).

Assigned to the South American and African Centres of Diversity, peanut or cultivars
thereof is reported to exhibit tolerance to aluminium, disease, drought, frost, fungus,
high pH, heat, insects, laterite, limestone, low pH, sand, smog, savannah, ultraviolet,
and virus (2n = 40) (Duke, 1981a).

Peanut oil can be made on the farm with a sheller, a press, and a little time to let the
gum settle to the bottom of the tank.

Yields of nuts range from 2 to 6 tonnes/ha per year for good growing conditions and
using cultivars that are matched to the site. Yields with poorer conditions and cultivars
range from 400 to 1500 kg/ha.

By-products
This dry matter from the crop may be used for fodder or fuel or soil enrichment. Haulms
constitute good fodder, silage or green manure

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
The groundnut is propagated from seed. Seedbed should be prepared, either on the flat,
or widely ridged. Seed is often treated with antifungal dressing before planting. In
commercial farming, the groundnut is often grown in monoculture and by mechanized
means. But is also cultivated by hand and sometimes in mixed culture. The spacing and
seed rate vary with growth rate vary with growth habit and production methods. Stands
of 250,000 plants per hectare are sought in machine-drilled planting. For types planted
by hand, however, much lower seed rates may be used. Weeds are controlled by
cultivation and by pre- and post-planting applications of selective herbicides. Responses
to N applied early are common and large in short season cultivars in semi-arid regions of
West Africa. Phosphorous (P) is added on tropical red earths but less on temperate
sandy soils on which other crops in the rotation receive P fertilizer. Roots and fruits
61
absorb nutrients. Calcium (Ca) supply in the pegging zone is essential for high yield of
good quality peanuts in large-podded, alternate types. Seeds produced on Ca-deficient
soil often have poor germination and poor seedling growth. In tropical red soils
(Oxisols), addition of S may be beneficial.

b. Harvesting
Although flowering may commence in 30 days, 80150 days or more are required for
fruit maturation. In hand-harvest plants are pulled up and turned over on the ground or
stacked or placed on racks to cure. Pods are picked and allowed to complete drying in
depths of 5 cm or less on trays, or spread in the sun in the dry season tropics. In case of
fully mechanized harvesting a single operation pulls up, inverts and windrows the plants
where they remain a few days for preliminary drying. The pods are removed by combine
machines and elevated into baskets attached to the combine or blown directly into
trailing "drying wagons" which when full may be towed to a drying station where warm
or ambient air is forced through the load of peanuts. In Argentina the combines pick and
shell the pods in one operation so that the crop is marketed as dried seeds instead of
dried pods.


The groundnut is subject to along list of diseases. The best management relies on
correct choice of cultivar.

The groundnut is susceptible to nematodes, ground beetles, foliage insects and storage
insects. This requires good cultivar choice as well as the use of insecticides.

Industrial hemp
See Olsen (2004) for the Queensland Government Information paper on industrial
hemp (industrial cannabis) 23 February 2007 , at
http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/hemp/16241.html, and additional sources in USDA
(2000) and Wikipedia.

Introduction

Industrial hemp is a number of varieties of Cannabis sativa L., each intended for
agricultural and industrial purposes. They are grown for their seed and fibre content
as well as the resulting byproducts such as oil, seed cake, and fibre. Industrial hemp
has low concentrations of the narcotic, THC. It is a tall, herbaceous annual plant with
a deep tap root which grows to a height of up to 5 metres, depending on variety and
growing conditions.

Climate and soils
Industrial hemp grows well in areas where maize produces high yields. It can be
grown on a variety of soils, but it does best on loose, well-drained loam soils with
high fertility and abundant organic matter. Industrial hemp plants are particularly
sensitive to wet, flooded, or waterlogged soil. Plants require plentiful moisture
throughout the growing season, especially during the first six weeks. Hemp also
needs substantial amounts of available nutrients to produce high yields.

Plant Characteristics and Growing Requirements
Cannabis sativa is normally dioecious, i.e. the species has separate male and female
plants. Monoecious varieties, with the male and female flower parts on the same
plant, have been developed in a number of countries through breeding and selection.
Industrial hemp can be grown as a fibre, seed, or dual-purpose crop. Hemp is a bast
fibre plant similar to flax, kenaf, and jute.

Only a small number of varieties have low concentrations of THC. Several countries
have ongoing breeding programs. The industry is seeking high-yielding strains that
are low in THC and meet various end-use needs. For example, breeders are looking
for fibre lines that are high in primary fibre yields (for pulping), extra-fine fibres (for
textiles), and cellulose content (for biomass fuel) and for seed lines with various seed
sizes (for easier hulling and assorted food uses), special amino acid profiles (for
human and animal feeds), and specific components in the oil for industrial uses (such
as industrial lubricants). Most commercial varieties require long summer days to
develop, and are not suited to the tropics. Australia has tested tropical varieties from
Asia successfully in Queensland.

In temperate conditions, industrial hemp produces about 1.5 - 2.6 tonnes/ha/yr of
seeds which at an extraction rate of 35% amounts to about 600 - 1000 litres of oil
per ha, though the Queensland report indicates that an average of 1.0 tonnes/ha/yr
is more likely in temperate conditions . In addition, fibre yields can amount to about
10 tonnes/ha/yr.

By-products
Hemp is used for a wide variety of purposes, including the manufacture of cordage of
varying tensile strength, clothing, and nutritional products. The inner two fibres of
63
hemp are more often used in non-woven items and other industrial applications
(such as biocomposites). The seeds are comparable to sunflower seeds, and can be
used for baking, like sesame seeds. Expression of oil from the seed of industrial
hemp plants leaves behind a protein-rich, oil-poor seed cake, also referred to as
seed meal. This seed meal has proven to be an excellent source of nutrition for
animals
Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Sowing density is a strong determinant of yield, requiring from 10 to 45
kilograms/ha, in a well-prepared seedbed. Industrial hemp is sensitive to drought
and needs ample soil moisture, especially during the first six weeks of its growth. In
addition, sound agronomic practices for weed management prior to planting need to
be followed to reduce the competitive effect from the weed population early in the
life of the crop.

b. Harvesting
Industrial hemp may be cut by hand or machine. Timing is important, and it appears
that there is a trade-off between fibre and seed harvested earlier harvests, before
see maturity, maximise fibre harvests.

Unclear; mainly NGOs.

c. Disease and pest management
Industrial hemp has a reputation for being resistant to pests and disease, although
the degree of resistance has been greatly exaggerated, with the crop playing host to
several insects and fungal pathogens. Grey mould, caused by the fungus Botrytis
cinerea, is one of the most significant diseases associated with industrial hemp, and
there are nearly 300 pests worldwide, the most serious of which are the European
core borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) and the hemp borer (Grapholita delineana).
64
Soybean

Introduction
The soybean is a bushy, rather coarse annual herb; stems up to 1.8 m tall,.
Important rotational crop

Climate and soils
The soybean grows successfully in a wide range of bioclimates, from temperate to
tropical, and tolerates semi-arid conditions. A subtropical plant, but its cultivation
extends from the tropics to 52N. In the US it has its greatest development in the
corn belt. It will not withstand excessive heat or severe winters. A short-day plant.
Requires 5 dm water for good crop. Grows best on fertile, well-drained soils, but
does tolerate a wide range of soil conditions; pH 6.06.5 preferred. Soybean soils
must contain the proper nitrogen-fixing bacteria. When grown on the same land for
23 successive years, increasing yields are obtained year after year. Crop suited to a
dry zone, to a low or mid-country wet zone or under irrigation. Soybeans will brow
better than many crops on soils that are low in fertility, droughty or poorly drained.
Many high latitude cultivars do very poorly in low latitude. Ranging from Cool
Temperate Moist to Wet through Tropical Very Dry to Wet Forest Life Zones, soybean
has been reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 3.1 to 41.0 dm (mean of 108
cases = 12.8), annual mean temperature of 5.9 to 27C (mean of 108 cases =
18.2), and pH of 4.3 to 8.4 (mean of 98 cases = 6.2).

This is now a highly bred crop, with GM cultivars becoming prominent. Not known in
the wild. Choice of cultivar for local conditions is especially important, as well as
regular rotation for pest and disease control.

Average yield of beans is about 1.tonnes/ha High-yielding cultivars, adapted to the
locality and grown under proper culture and favourable conditions will yield more
than twice the average yield.

By-products
Seed cake for animal feed.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
Propagated by seed. Seedbed preparation for soybeans is similar to that for corn or
cotton, requiring very thorough cultivation to provide a deep loose seedbed.
Important that weeds be destroyed by light disking, thorough harrowing or by use of
cultivators, immediately preceding planting, thus preventing the weeds from getting
ahead of the soybeans. Soil temperatures and day-length determine the best time to
plant seeds at or (after corn-planting time in most areas). Careful fertilisation is
required, the needs varying with the soil and the cropping system. Soybeans are
more acid tolerant than other legumes but may require lime applications on acid
soils. Weed competition is serious, and may reduce yields by 50%. Early cultivation
prevents weeds from becoming established ahead of the soybeans.

65
b. Harvesting
All seeds on a soybean plant mature at essentially the same time. Maturity of the
seed is accompanied by a rapid dropping of the leaves and drying of the stems.
Combines management is critical. As seed moisture drops below 12%, germination
damage because of mechanical injury increases.

Diverse

Insects known to attack soybeans include corn earworms, Mexican bean beetles,
bean leaf beetles, velvetbean caterpillars, lesser cornstalk borers, stink bugs, and
other insects. Insects need to controlled with the proper insecticide. The more
important fungal diseases of soybeans are: Alternaria sp. (leaf spot),
Cephalosporium gregatum (brown stem rot), and many more. Virus diseases include:
soybean mosaic, bud blight, and yellow mosaic.

The use of resistant cultivars is the most desirable and ecologically sound method for
managing pests and diseases.
66
Sunflower

Climate and soils
Sunflower grows successfully in a wide range of bioclimates, from temperate to
tropical, and tolerates semi-arid conditions. It is sensitive to drought especially from
20 days before until 20 days after flowering. It grows well on soils ranging from
sands to clays, but requires good drainage. Level of commercialisation or
technological development. Sunflower is a highly bred species, with cultivars and
hybrids purpose-bred for different environments and requiring continuous breeding
to maintain resistance to pests and diseases in different environments. The Center
for New Crops and Plant Products states: The development of a cytoplasmic male-
sterile and restorer system for sunflower has enabled seed companies to produce
high-quality hybrid seed. Most of these outyield open-pollinated varieties and are
higher in percent oil. Performance of varieties tested over several environments is
the best basis for selecting sunflower hybrids. The choice should consider yield, oil
percentage, maturity, seed size (for non-oilseed markets), and lodging and disease
resistance.

This is a high-technology crop, requiring efficient support especially from the private
sector

Sunflower will normally yield about 1.0 to 2.0 tonnes of seed per ha per year under
good management, with seed yielding about 39% to 49% oil at optimum, though
often lower (being prone in this respect to soil moisture regime and other input
factors).

By-products
After pressing for oil, sunflower seeds yield a valuable seed cake for livestock feed.
The crop residues are suitable for silage.

Input requirements

a. Agronomic
This is a crop requiring commercial seed sources, careful mechanised seedbed
preparation, fertilisation, careful timing of sowing, and high attention to pest
management,

A successful sunflower business requires efficient access to commercial seed
suppliers and other agribusiness support services.

Sunflower is prone to several fungal diseases. The best disease management
measure is choice of best cultivar.

Insect pests have become major potential yield-reducing factors in sunflower
production. Birds can be major pests in sunflowers, especially in Africa. Some
cultivars require cross-pollination by bees to reach optimum production.

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