Comparative analysis of biofuels policy development in Sub-Saharan Africa: The place of private and public sectors

Considering that biofuels are considered as a catalyst for stimulating rural economic development, a number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SAA) have developed policies to guide the development of the sector. This paper reviews the extent to which the existing biofuels policies and strategies of SSA countries have embraced public-private partnerships (PPPs) and whether the policies enhance or hinder such partnerships. In general, most SSA countries have no regulatory frameworks that have led to some private firms taking advantage of this inactivity to acquire large amounts of land for the growing of energy crops for biofuels at the expense of food crops, mostly involving smallholder farmers. The paper proposes developing effective PPP arrangements in order to leverage the synergies from the efficiencies of both public and private sectors. Such PPPs are crucial for mobilizing financial resources to drive scientific research and innovations for developing advanced processing technologies for second generation biofuels using lignocellulosic biomass as alternatives to traditional feedstock in order to foster the commercialization of biofuels in SSA. In conclusion, as we now live in a global village, countries must undertake detailed and systematic, country-specific assessments to ascertain the viability and feasibility of biofuels, and define the “rules of the game” in order to protect rural dwellers from loosing land to investors for growing energy crops and ensure equitable distribution of benefits of biofuels investments without posing a threat to environment or intruding on the rights of citizens or communities. Where biofuels are viable, PPPs should be part of the biofuels policy and investment strategy in order to build trust, collective responsibility and joint risk management to achieve shared outcomes for farmers, the investor and the environment.