“The Indian Government has provided US$250 million to the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) for the establishment of a fund to promote biofuels in the West Africa sub-region.  Ghana's Prof. Dominic Fobih, the Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines. India had already closed a bioenergy cooperation agreement with Senegal earlier this year , but is now stepping up its involvement in the region.

In addition, a number of bilateral and multilateral forms of support is to be offered by donor countries for disbursement to farmers through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) to enable farmers to experiment in the cultivation of Jatropha curcas, a shrub used to produce biofuels.

Minister Fobih said the resources pooled at the conference would help countries and governments in the sub-region to adapt strategies to exploit the full potential of biofuels. He said EBID would play a significant role in the development of the renewable fuels in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD).

Mr Bashiru Ifo, Managing Director of EBID, said the bank, in conjunction with commercial banks and other financial institutions, as a first step, would be financing a project costing US $35 million for the production of biodiesel in Ghana. He stated that the bank ultimately hoped to contribute as efficiently as possible to fighting unemployment and poverty throughout West-Africa by strengthening the economic and social benefits of biofuels.”

Source: BioPact 11-17-06