Increased Palm Oil Production in Kigoma for Food- and Energy Security

FELISA is Africa’s pioneer in the production of biodiesel from palm oil. The company device is ‘Farming for Energy’, illustrating FELISA’s commitment to uphold biofuel production as the best tool for sustainable development in the rural tropics.

FELISA made the following strategic choices:
· Oil palm as energy crop because it has by far the highest oil yield per hectare and it is at the same time a very versatile crop, which assures its profitability;
· Biodiesel as biofuel type because it is equivalent to conventional diesel while its production is simple and allows for small scale production;
· Kigoma as the region to settle because of its recognized potential for oil palm and its strategic base for trade routes, currently all under-utilised.

The FELISA production chain starts with the oil palm tree which produces fresh fruit bunches (FFB). These are transported to the factory. Fruits are stripped off the bunches, cooked and pressed to produce crude palm oil (CPO). After clarification and filtration, the CPO is transformed to biodiesel via a chemical process called transesterification.

Besides producing CPO and biodiesel, FELISA will obtain marketable by-products as kernel oil and soap. Moreover we will produce other vegetable oils like sunflower oil and jatropha oil to take maximum advantage of our machinery. All our products have their market in Kigoma and neighbouring regions (with focus on DRC and Burundi because of our location). Customers are well acquainted with vegetable oils offered by FELISA and the demand is high.

Biodiesel is a new product. Possible customers in Kigoma are international and local NGO’s, TANESCO power station and hammer mill operators. The first groups have already expressed interest. We may export to Dar Es Salaam where because of the presence of an environmentally friendly higher class, international organisations and embassies. FELISA is negotiating with a major fuel company to offer biodiesel blends to customers.

The FFB processed in the factory are available in large quantities from October to June. These bunches are now originating from outgrowers. To mitigate the risk of floating raw material prices, we are developing our own palm plantation.

Biodiesel is fully equivalent to conventional diesel. Our first customers will be environment conscious groups. Other customers will buy FELISA biodiesel because of its competitive price (just below the traditional diesel). FELISA is already in contact with petroleum companies in a pro-active move awaiting the government to decide upon blending ratios of biofuels into petrofuels.

We distribute our product with tanker trucks in the Kigoma region, by boats on the Tanganyika Lake and by train to Dar Es Salaam. We want to sell our biodiesel to an established fuel company who can further distribute it in Dar. Whether blended or not with conventional diesel, biodiesel is 100% suitable for any diesel engine.

For promotion of our product we will use the usual media channels as internet, papers, radio and television. Street advertising (billboards and wheel covers) can be organised with our future partner in Dar. The President of Tanzania, H.E. J.M. Kikwete has promised to officially inaugurate our biodiesel reactor later this year.

As currently there are no other biofuel producers in Tanzania, we do not have a direct competitor. Our indirect competitors are the traditional fuel companies.

FELISA is unique. It is Africa’s pioneer in biodiesel production from palm oil. FELISA is fostering a new green revolution and is bringing new hope to tropical agriculture.

As an agronomist I worked and lived in Africa since 1985. I have extensive experience in tropical agriculture. In Burundi I worked as a specialist in the restoration of acid soils. Subsequently I served in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and finally Botswana where I was Senior Agricultural Advisor to SADC. I built up a strong contacts network on crop and seed production, plant protection and livestock.

My long experience at policy level convinced me that African agriculture is in dire need of market access to get out of its current crisis. In 2005, I organised the first southern African conference on ‘Farming for Energy’ and I directed the publication of the ‘Feasibility Study on the Production and Use of Biofuels in Southern Africa’.

FELISA is my second creation: in 1993 I already founded an agricultural lime company in Burundi (CALCOBU). The project had to be closed down due to the civil war.

FELISA promotes the concept of 'Farming for Energy' as a poverty reduction strategy.

As a company we will employ local people in the office, in the factory and on the farm. The total amount varies with the agricultural season and will increase every year as we expand. We try to train all employees to their level so that work is done more efficiently and professionally.

Besides, we give a lot of attention to the farmers through our outgrower scheme. We want local farmers to have a total area of 500 ha under oil palm cultivation. Therefore we plan following activities:
· Training farmers on modern oil palm production techniques;
· Providing farmers with high oil yield hybrid seedlings;
· Training village nursery attendants;
· Provide a reliable market to farmers for both fresh fruit bunches and the oil itself. This will provide the outgrowers with a direct income which certainly will improve their living standards.

In the long-term we will create a lot of indirect employment via the spin-offs that will arise. Examples are soap factories, oil refinery units, garages specialized in biofuels, biofuel tank stations.

We also plan to invest in a biogas installation on our factory plot. This will provide electricity for the region. People will be able to start up small businesses and to study at night. Social activities in the villages will be easier to organize.