Geographical Indication (GI) options for Ethiopian Coffee and Ghanaian Cocoa

The State of Biofuel Innovation in Mozambique
follow the examples of Brazil and India in exploring partnerships with other countries
possessing significant biofuel sectors, as well as exploring how biofuels production
and exports might be a vehicle for increasing investment and improving
technological knowledge and skills.
Petromoc (2010)
This fact-finding study by Petromoc, undertaken by three officers of the company’s
Office of Projects and Development, found 39 biofuel projects in Mozambique in
2010: 13 devoted to ethanol and 26 to biodiesel. The Petromoc team assessed, inter
alia, the technologies used by the companies already producing biodiesel. Some
companies did not indicate the type of technology in use, but, in general, those
that disclosed such information applied first generation technology. The technology
is mainly sourced from India, the Netherlands and South Africa.
4. Findings
Policy and legal framework
The NPSB, approved via Resolution No. 22/2009 of 24 March 2009, lists, inter alia,
the following benefits Mozambique can achieve via biofuel production:
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gradual substitution of fossil fuels;
exports via the existing free trade agreement (FTA) among Member States
of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), of which
Mozambique is a member and which has approximately 250 million
inhabitants; and
acceleration of research and development (R&D) activities to facilitate the
adaptation and evolution of technology (NPSB, 2009).
The NPSB also calls for the promotion of participation by academic and research
institutions and all components of the scientific community at national level in
biofuels R&D. Further, the NPSB calls for development of technologies in local
communities and support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the biofuels
sector. It is clear, then, that the government of Mozambique is setting great
store in biofuels as a pathway to socio-economic development. There is also significant
interest from the international private sector and from foreign governments
(see NL Agency, 2011; 2012). Of note is Mozambique’s biofuels support
agreement with the EU and Brazil (ICTSD, 2010). Brazil, which has natural links
to Mozambique via a shared Portuguese colonial heritage, is a world leader in
biofuel production.
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