UK firm's failed biofuel dream wrecks lives of Tanzania villagers

The Observer, Sunday 30 October 2011

"People feel this is like the return of colonialism," says Mkambala, chairman of Mhaga village in rural Tanzania.

A quarter of the village's land in Kisarawe district was acquired by a British biofuels company in 2008, with the promise of financial compensation, 700 jobs, water wells, improved schools, health clinics and roads. But the company has gone bust, leaving villagers not just jobless but landless as well. The same story is playing out across Africa, as foreign investors buy up land but leave some of the poorest people on Earth worse off when their plans fail.

It was the promise of this lucrative export market that led Sun Biofuels to Africa to plant jatropha, the seeds of which can be processed into biodiesel.

"Water is everything," says local activist Halima Ali, sitting with three of her children on the earth floor of their home. "Because they promised there would be water available, everyone was happy." There would be more time for farming and more time for her children to go to school, she says. But the company drilled only a 6in-wide hole in the village, despite having sunk a 100m well on the plantation. "We thought something very good had come to the village, to lift our standard of life, but now we are only crying," she says.

Sun Biofuels was the first company to come to the area and about 50 people in Mhaga rushed to take jobs at its plantation, some queueing for days for the £42-a-month salary. Saidi Abasi was one, but he was soon unhappy.
Abasi's job was spraying pesticides, but he claims he was initially given no protective equipment. "During spraying, we became like drunk people," he says.

Mhaga's crowded school teaches 257 children and was promised new classrooms, books and materials, says teacher Rhamadani Lwinde, but all that appeared were a few portable blackboards.

In the nearby village of Mtamba, villagers tell the same stories of broken promises and unpaid compensation. Tabu Koba says he was one of 11 people to lose land and one of nine who received no money at all. "We are very angry," he says. "My children have now left school but have nowhere to farm."

Sun Biofuels and two related companies went into administration in August, but their shares in a Tanzanian subsidiary – Sun Biofuels Tanzania, which did not go bust – were sold

It was not possible for the villagers to get their land back, as it is now owned by the government.

Mwenisongole named Kenyan Alan Mayers as the new chief executive of Sun Biofuels Tanzania. Mayers said he could not comment on the previous owners' failure to provide wells and classrooms, but added: "We are looking into the matter and our community relations officer is in constant contact with the villages." Villagers say that there has been just one recent meeting.

A large jatropha plantation created by a Dutch firm called Bioshape in the southern Tanzanian district of Kilwa has also gone bankrupt, leaving locals complaining of missing land payments. Also in Tanzania, a large ethanol biofuel project set up by Swedish company Sekab went bust. In both cases, the land has not been returned to its owners.

The Observer's investigations and those of journalist Stefano Valentino have identified at least 30 abandoned biofuels projects in 15 African countries.

The thirst for biofuels to meet the UK and EU's rising targets has led British companies to lead the charge into Africa. Half the 3.2m hectares of biofuel land identified is linked to 11 British companies, the biggest proportion of any country. ActionAid's estimate suggests that up to 6m hectares has been acquired. But with landowners frequently illiterate and unaware of their rights, the potential for exploitation is high.

In Kisarawe, the villagers do not know if the promises will ever be kept. They feel deeply betrayed and are increasingly angry as time passes without answers. "If we have not got our rights by December, we will slash the jatropha plants," says Mkambala. "That will be the clearest sign that we do not need this company here."

THE ENERGY DEBATE

What are biofuels?

Biofuels are petrol and diesel substitutes produced from plants. Their great attraction is that they can be used by existing cars and lorries and, because the plants absorb carbon dioxide when they grow, burning them does not fuel global warming - in theory.

What's the problem?

Many studies have now shown that existing biofuels, such as petrol substitutes produced from corn or diesel replacements from soya or palm oil, are actually worse for the environment than petrol, once you have factored in all the fertilisers, processing and transport. Furthermore, converting food into fuels has been widely linked to the rising food prices which have driven millions around the world into hunger.

Is the UK involved?

Yes. British fuel suppliers are already required to blend a few per cent of biofuel into all petrol and diesel, rising to 5% by 2013-14. This is despite 70% of these biofuels failing to meet the government's own green standards. The EU also has a target of 10% of all fuel being derived from plants by 2020. This is driving the demand for biofuels, with UK companies ahead in acquiring millions of hectares of land in Africa.

Is there any hope for biofuels?

So-called second-generation biofuels, which produce fuels from plant waste such as stalks or wood chips, would avoid the competition with food but are only at the research stage. Even further away, and perhaps even more promising, is producing fuels from algae grown in ponds or tubes. But the volumes of fuel currently used are so vast that, even with some environmentally friendly biofuels, we will need more efficient and more electric vehicles as well as better public transport if we are to tackle climate change.

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