South Africa Excludes Maize in Approved Biofuels Plan

South Africa has approved the final draft of its biofuel plan. The plan was developed in response to concerns over energy security and climate change. The target is to replace 2% of it total fuel production by biofuels by the year 2013. Fuel levy exemptions (50% for biodiesel and 100% for ethanol) are also in place as incentives. The following crops have been identified as feedstocks for biofuel industry development: sugarcane/sugar beet for ethanol, and soya/canola/sunflower for biodiesel. Maize was not included in the list of biofuel feedstocks.

According to Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, maize would not be included in the intial stages of the biofuel development plans, citing food security concerns. Maize is a staple food source of the majority of the poor people in the country. A local famer’s representative organization (Grain SA) expressed concern over the exclusion of maize as biofuel feedstock, saying that “biofuels could create new markets for farmers and utilize South Africa’s unused land". A pilot phase production for biofuels is envisioned by next year.