One thing makes me wonder if we ever learn from our mistakes or ever will: why on earth would our mature, seasoned and thoughtful leaders want to embrace the new biofuel fad with so much enthousiasm?
One of the reasons why the developed countries decided to look for alternative sources for their much needed fuel was to reduce their dependency from imported oil products. Let's not be naive and believe the first and foremost reason was concern for the well-being of our planet. We'll continue to consume till we drop, collectively. Or till the planet suffocates completely. This cynical view is what the worldwide, globalized economy relies upon.
So why would Ghana be so urgently interested to grow biofuel plants now, when oil is being found in the Ghanaian waters every other week, or so it seems? Even if this booty is finite, won't it at least buy us a little time? Why welcome with so widely open arms President Lula of Brazil's project of growing sugar cane on a massive scale in Ghana to produce biofuels, when Ghana imports every single cristal of sugar she uses in food and beverages?
When people (scientists and environmentalists) started being critical about using crops fit for human consumption to make fuel (like corn, sugar cane, and soy beans, for example -- but we had already bought into this wonderful project Lula painted in so flattering colours for us), Jatropha curcas was touted as the 'miracle' wonderplant that would grow where nothing else thrives and even fertilize the soil where it grew.
Where the shoe pinches, is that
This is not just a bitter fantasy of progress-adverse or eternally disgruntled people. The new biofuel wave is already lapping against our agricultural lands. Tens of thousands of acres are being requested (and obtained) by big companies --none of them Ghanaian-- in Ghana.
Their argument that
The modern, globalized economy and its wizards tell us to stop fretting about growing our own food and to import whatever we need. It will be provided to us (nevermind the price, in terms of monetary cost or destroyed livelihoods to local farmers), as long as we grow what we are told to grow, sell it abroad as a raw material and take gratefully whatever price the buyer will condescend to give us. Does it ring a bell? It's not surprising: We've been doing that since colonial times and 52 years after we won our "independence", we are still begging to eat.
Let's use the newly discovered oil to buy us time to turn around our mentalities; to change the way we use our lands; to feed our fellow citizens --and especially our kids-- with healthy, plentiful, locally produced food; to educate them to be able to stand tall and face suppliers and buyers alike on a more equal footing, especially psychologically and morally; to learn how to use state of the art technologies so that Ghana can produce and process herself what she needs, including in terms of alternative energy, instead of giving up her heritage for lack of any ability to exploit it profitably.
One of the reasons why the developed countries decided to look for alternative sources for their much needed fuel was to reduce their dependency from imported oil products. Let's not be naive and believe the first and foremost reason was concern for the well-being of our planet. We'll continue to consume till we drop, collectively. Or till the planet suffocates completely. This cynical view is what the worldwide, globalized economy relies upon.
So why would Ghana be so urgently interested to grow biofuel plants now, when oil is being found in the Ghanaian waters every other week, or so it seems? Even if this booty is finite, won't it at least buy us a little time? Why welcome with so widely open arms President Lula of Brazil's project of growing sugar cane on a massive scale in Ghana to produce biofuels, when Ghana imports every single cristal of sugar she uses in food and beverages?
When people (scientists and environmentalists) started being critical about using crops fit for human consumption to make fuel (like corn, sugar cane, and soy beans, for example -- but we had already bought into this wonderful project Lula painted in so flattering colours for us), Jatropha curcas was touted as the 'miracle' wonderplant that would grow where nothing else thrives and even fertilize the soil where it grew.
Where the shoe pinches, is that
it’s already clear that, while jatropha can indeed grow on lands with minimal water and poor nutrition, “if you plant trees in a marginal area, and all they do is just not die, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get a lot of oil from them.” (...) “If you grow jatropha in marginal conditions, you can expect marginal yields,” says Vincent Volckaert, the Africa regional director for D1.(1)Are we back to the main argument of the anti-biofuel crowd? Oh yes, we are right there: the whole problem is that food crops will be displaced to allow large multinational companies to use prime land for biofuels.
This is not just a bitter fantasy of progress-adverse or eternally disgruntled people. The new biofuel wave is already lapping against our agricultural lands. Tens of thousands of acres are being requested (and obtained) by big companies --none of them Ghanaian-- in Ghana.
Their argument that
only land not needed for food crop production would be used for the cultivation of jatropha(2)is a severe insult thrown in the collective face of the more than 20 million of Ghanaians (2000 census figure), since
the country imports almost everything it eats. The country produces only 21% of its rice and about 42% of its maize requirements.(3)Considering these figures, it is extremely difficult to understand exactly what can be deemed "land not needed" and based on what criteria large tracts of it were allocated to these projects.
The modern, globalized economy and its wizards tell us to stop fretting about growing our own food and to import whatever we need. It will be provided to us (nevermind the price, in terms of monetary cost or destroyed livelihoods to local farmers), as long as we grow what we are told to grow, sell it abroad as a raw material and take gratefully whatever price the buyer will condescend to give us. Does it ring a bell? It's not surprising: We've been doing that since colonial times and 52 years after we won our "independence", we are still begging to eat.
Let's use the newly discovered oil to buy us time to turn around our mentalities; to change the way we use our lands; to feed our fellow citizens --and especially our kids-- with healthy, plentiful, locally produced food; to educate them to be able to stand tall and face suppliers and buyers alike on a more equal footing, especially psychologically and morally; to learn how to use state of the art technologies so that Ghana can produce and process herself what she needs, including in terms of alternative energy, instead of giving up her heritage for lack of any ability to exploit it profitably.
Obi bεma wo a, nte sε woama wo ho.
If someone says that they will give you something, it is not like providing for yourself (Self-sufficiency is best). (4)
8 comments:
brilliant analysis of this biofuel madness especially in ghana..
once again misplaced proirities of a leadership that lacks innovation and living in the shadows..
but things will change because there is a way out of all this negative mindset.
Thanks for the support. We need to reassess our priorities based on our actual needs and not what the rest of the world says we should do. We won't be able to do so efficiently as long as we don't believe we are capable of thinking straight. Obviously, we lack confidence in our own good sense.
confidence comes from the belief that we are partaking on a journey that could profoundly change one's life, and every rung on the ladder has both setbacks and setups..
The starting point of making permanent and lasting changes in confidence begins with understanding the difference between “positive” mindset and “negative” mindest.
confidence radiates from understanding how everything works. Life works according to principle and physical law.
What I am saying is that one's word is the law in the universe. But we need to know these laws. Without an understanding of the laws, through ignorance, one cannot create what is wanted. The fundamental law to which all other laws conform is the Law of Cause and Effect..and that another discussion..
my point is without the understanding of the basics to shape our minds and give us some leverage in focus and confidence we will not stop going round in circles
Great analysis. Well done.
But do our leaders ever show the ability to understand these issues? I doubt.
Many more multi-nationals are trooping into Ghana with their own versions of how much good biofuels from jatropha and other crops would do for Ghana and her economy, and like they always do, our leaders are lapping up every thing they are told and signing contracts they hardly comprehend.
In the meantime, "we need foreign direct investments badly", don't you think so?
And by the way, our local farmers and investors do not really matter! Do they?
Thanks Emmanuel. I wish more journalists like you would make it their duty to explain to their readers how the economics of these deals really work instead of reporting on high level meetings with "he said...", "she said..." without ever offering any explanations, analyses or opinions, except useless and severely biased partisan vociferations.
Greetings...i am learning. Thank you all so much and thank the ancestors for guiding me to this site.
Is it naivity or spinelessness on the part of the leaders that make these negotiations.
Earlier in a blog you stated some things on life in rome comparing to ghana. i was wondering how much you understand about roman/greek philosophy as compared to African philosophy. the reason i ask is because they come with the idea in there deep seeded view of "will to power" and "might is right" and things of this nature. That is the mindset that many of us go to school and get programmed into from an early age.
I am just trying to figure out how to approach the mindset of us Africans globally that seems to be so sold and bought into euro mindsets that do not serve us (that dont even serve the masses of euros)
I would like to also know do you journal for the public of Ghana?
again thanks...blessings..
reh
Does anyone know what harm if any this "jatropha" does to the soil?
Hello Reh,
Thank you for your comment. I am not sure I understand when you say "i was wondering how much you understand about roman/greek philosophy as compared to African philosophy."
Well, I don't know whether I understand anything about anything at all. I'm just feeling my way through life, like most people. I'm half European, half African, which doesn't mean much either, except that I may have more insights into (grossly simplifying) both philosophies than most people with only one culture.
You say: "the reason i ask is because they come with the idea in there deep seeded view of "will to power" and "might is right" and things of this nature. That is the mindset that many of us go to school and get programmed into from an early age."
Who is "they" in your comment? Romans (why the present tense, then?), or Africans? And who is "us"? Europeans, or Africans, again?
It's difficult to answer your post without being sure who is who in this statement.
"do you journal for the public of Ghana?"
Blogging is like throwing a bottle to the sea, you never know who will read your message. I'm a very infrequent blogger, probably because my urge to send S.O.S. messages is not that strong after all. Yes, people of various walks of life and horizons happen to read my posts. I know a few Ghanaians read them. May I ask why the question?
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