Namibia Workshop Presentations

Two Workshops have been held on the 3-5 June 2010 and 29 – 30 April 2013.

2.1 Abstracts of Namibia Workshop (June 2010)

2.1.7 Agro-ecological environmental biotechnology systems for food and fuel sovereignty in Southern Africa

Presenter:
Mark Wells

The Presentation explores agro-ecological environmental biotechnology systems for food and fuel in SA. The IAASTD (2008), the most comprehensive assessment of agricultural knowledge, science and technology to date. A four year study engaged over 400 scientists and agricultural experts from 110 countries, two peer reviews, concludes that small scale agroecological systems:

Generate greater yields per hectare
More jobs per hectare
Resilient to drought and disease
Contributing positively towards climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience.

IAASTD World Agricultural Report is ratified by 58 countries calls for governments to redirect their focus from chemical and energy intensive conventional farming systems towards productive small-scale agro-ecological farming linked to equitable distribution systems.

In nature one natural kingdoms waste is food for another natural kingdom. These natural processes can be used to produce energy and nutrients. Waste is not a problem but a resource.

Environmental Biotechnology: The optimal use of nature, in the form of plants, animals, bacteria, fungi and algae, to produce energy, food and nutrients in a synergistic integrated cycle of profit making processes where the waste of each process becomes the feedstock for another process.

Integrated Algal Systems: The production of microalgae such as Chlorella is a tried and tested oxidation method for the treatment of effluent from both large and small scale biogas digesters. Integrated Biogas and Algal Sytsems were pioneered by Golueke and Oswald in 1970’s and enhanced by Professor George Chan from the Zero Emission Research and Initiatives (ZERI) organization.

Actions required include:

Establish environmental biotechnology agro-ecological reference centres that demonstrate food and fuel production and distribution for smallholders
Develop appropriate community based biofuel processing technologies:
Biogas scrubbing, compression and storage
Oil extractors and biodiesel processing
Sugar sap extractors, ethanol fermentation & distillation
Introduce applications for technologies for bioenergy utilisation for rural communities
E.g Biogas powered electrical generators, chillers and vehicles
E.g. Ethanol powered engines, pumps, chainsaws and vehicles
Ongoing research to enhance productivity of integrated systems

African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Science and Technology Programme
Grant Contract: FED/2009/217066

This Action is funded under the ACP Science and Technology Programme

(http://www.acp-st.eu/about/)

by the European Union and implemented by the ACP Secretariat.

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