Public fury halts biofuel onslaught on farmers

“The government was asleep and never knew when these people came. But now that we have discovered where we went wrong, we have to stop and set out clear procedures for biofuel investments,” she said.

The decision to halt biofuel investments is likely to have a knock-on effect as the government has already spent $3.1 million secured as a grant from Sweden and Norway to strengthen policy, legal, regulatory and institutional framework to support a sustainable biofuel industry in Tanzania.

Mrs Mfugale says the government had little knowledge of the presence of biofuel investors but it is doing all it can now to get a full picture.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives has already identified broad land uses from its land use categorisation.

Farming and livestock take up 47.5 per cent; forest, bush land and woodland 37.1 per cent; water resources seven per cent; wetlands 8.6 per cent; built-up areas 0.3 per cent; and bare rock 0.2 per cent.

The EastAfrican has been informed that three main potential land uses are threatened by the introduction of biofuel, especially jatropha cultivation.

They are farming, which will give away 17.5 per cent to biofuel investors; pastures and meadows suitable for livestock, which will give away 29.4 per cent; and forest, woodland, bush and grassland, which will give away 37 per cent.

They are also likely to be encroached upon by displaced farmers and livestock keepers.

The Tanzania Investment Centre has already set up a “land bank” of 2.5 million hectares identified as suitable for investment projects.

It has set aside 1.1 million hectares of land for agriculture; 1.4 million hectares for housing estates; 537,880 hectares for industry; 445.80 hectares for mining; 238,939 hectares for ranching and 711,027 hectares for tourism.