POOR FARMER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT to PRODUCE BIOFUELS & FOOD
Sisal and Oil Seed Tree Planting and Ostrich Production and Paper & Cord Production:
Coop Farm to Provide Opportunities for Landless Farmers & Demonstrate Best Biofuels Options
Babacu Collection & Processing into Charcoal, Oil/Meal, Wood Pellets & 2nd generation fuels
Sisal and Oil Seed Tree Planting and Ostrich Production and Paper & Cord Production:
Coop Farm to Provide Opportunities for Landless Farmers & Demonstrate Best Biofuels Options
Babacu Collection & Processing into Charcoal, Oil/Meal, Wood Pellets & 2nd generation fuels
1) Sisal and Oil Seed Tree Planting and Ostrich Production and Paper & Cord Production:
Sustainabale BioBrazil is in the process of obtaining $10 million Reis in funds from APEX (Brazilian Trade Promotion) and Common Fund for Commodities that will be invested in the State of Maranhao to assist in the start up sustainable integrated farm production of sisal, oil seed trees, food crops, ostrich production and biofuel crops. Land will be purchased to set up a cooperative farm to produce sustainable biofuels and food/fiber crops (see below). Thousands of small producers will be given assistance through direct aid in start up of sisal plantations on their small farms and through the provision of baby ostrich for ostrich production. Oil seed trees will also be planted on their land for future income from oil seed sales. Depending on the location of the sisal production, some of the production will be purchased in its whole form to produce paper. Paper will be made with a combination of sisal leaves, sugar cane leaves and recycled paper. Tens of millions of dollars of investment will be made in the refurbishing and start up of a paper plant that is now closed in central Maranhao. The facility will also purchase raw fiber from sisal producers who will process this fiber on their farm to produce fiber and mucilage. Fiber purchase will be targeted at small producers involved in ostrich production so the balance of mucilage from sisal plants can be used to feed ostrich and gain from both sisal fiber and ostrich sales. Sisal fiber will be used for the production of cord & other products. Ostrich production will be expanded in the state by adding incubation capacity for eggs and by expanding the number of breeding farms.
2) Coop Farm to Provide Opportunities for Landless Farmers & Demonstrate Best Biofuels Options
One of the best methods to assist small producers to avoid poverty is through increased food production and sale of crops for export using a communal farm approach. The problem with small farms is that they are inherently inefficient because of the inability to use mechanized equipment and lack of understanding of agronomic science to optimize production and value of products. An alternative to breaking up big farms into small farms and giving them to landless farmers is to buy large tracts of farm land and run them primarily as a cooperative farm (with the exception of small tracts for individual family production). This makes it feasible to enter into production of high value crops like sugar cane, soybeans, peanuts and other crops and use mechanization to improve productivity. It also allows for the planting of large tracts of native oil seed trees as a means to optimize oil production for biodiesel. As long as the coop farm actually redistributes income, it results in much greater income to each farmer in the coop and reduces the conflict between biofuels and small farmers. It also allows for use of good science to improve sustainability by reducing land use change impacts, utilizing new processes to provide fertilization and through full utilization of all products harvested from farms. UN FAO and Fund for Commodities are interested in an investment in Maranhao that would involve purchase of a large piece of land in Maranhao. The land would be commonly owned by a group of landless farmers and would provide an opportunity to jointly grow biofuel crops and food on the same land. It would involve the planting of sugar cane, oil seed trees, intercropping of nitrogen fixing food crops between tree rows and other silvicultural approaches. The agronomic plan for the use of the farm will stress sustainability results through higher yields, greater carbon reduction good soil and agronomic practices and other measures to insure environmental and economic health of farm operations. Farm management will be directed by the best teams of University agronomists who will devise plans to show how the farms can grow both food and fuel and provide a good source of income for farmers while providing oil, sugar and cellulose for biofuel production. The plan may also involve conversion of sugar cane to into intermediate products for final conversion at a bio-refinery as detailed in subsequent paragraphs.
3) Babacu Collection & Processing into Charcoal, Oil/Meal, Wood Pellets & 2nd Generation Fuels
Sustainable BioBrazil is in the process of forming alliances between the various collectors of babasu coconuts to devise a program for maximizing their income while also providing feedstock for the production of biofuels. They key to the approach is to overcome the near term problems such as access to babacu trees on farms or public land, destruction of babacu forests and cutting out of babacu collectors from harvest. The more important goal is to define a much broader role of babacu in the resource mix to enhance production of biofuels. This will first require improving the efficiency of harvesting and processing babacu so more coconuts are collected and processed more efficiently into a full stream of products. Hand collection and miles of walking with bags over shoulders will be replaced with use of vehicles and four wheelers with trailers. Hand processing of coconuts will be replaced with automated equipment with the same workers in the plant processing many many times the volume of coconuts per day. An equipment partner, Biodiesel Brasil, has developed automated technology to process babacu nuts into wood nuggets, oil seeds and other by-products. It also involves planting of additional babacu trees in areas where tree density is to low by culling areas where the tree density is too high. Through this strategy, the number of mature trees that are harvestable will jump from the 18 million hectares of trees in Brazil to 2 or 3 times that number and allow babacu to play a meaningful role in economic development, poverty reduction and provision of feedstock for biofuels.
Equally important is the utilization of technology in processing of babacu so that all of the resource is utilized. Currently most processing of babacu coconuts focuses on use of oil seeds for oil or meal. This leaves 86% of the coconut unutilized. In fact, the woody biomass in the endocarpal layer is of very high energy density (8500 mj per kg or about 25% higher than most coal). This makes it an ideal wood for production of charcoal and a very good feedstock for gasification into fuels (biomass to liquid or mixed alcohols). The exocarpal layer can also be used in production of cellulosic ethanol. Meal from pressing of oil from oil seeds can provide feed for animals. Babacu oil is an excellent feedstock for biodiesel, particularly in Brazil where there are no problems with cold flow. Use of new processes for conversion of babacu into biofuels will also allow for use of exocarpal layer, meal and other lower value parts for anaerobic digestion or use of the whole coconut minus the oil seeds for gasification.
The combined effort of increased access to the existing 18 million hectares of trees, planting of additional trees in farmlands now underutilized, mechanization of collection, machinery for processing and use of new biofuel conversion process could greatly augment the industry and move babacu from a minor consideration in the biofuels feedstock options in Brazil to a major feedstock source. Specific purchase orders to support these goals have already been obtained, including various purchase orders for vegetable oil and a 100,000 ton per year order from a UK coal electricity for babacu charcoal starting in 2010. Furthermore, the same buyer of babacu charcoal is interested in getting new babacu trees to be planted in order to produce "energy crops" as defined by EU power producer energy regulations. Coupled with this is the potential to earn carbon credits from the planting of babacu trees that can pay for most of the planting cost. This offers opportunities to plant trees in existing babacu forests to increase tree density and harvest viability and to offer higher income to babacu workers from planting trees, harvesting trees and processing babacu into a set of high value products very efficiently.
Sustainabale BioBrazil is in the process of obtaining $10 million Reis in funds from APEX (Brazilian Trade Promotion) and Common Fund for Commodities that will be invested in the State of Maranhao to assist in the start up sustainable integrated farm production of sisal, oil seed trees, food crops, ostrich production and biofuel crops. Land will be purchased to set up a cooperative farm to produce sustainable biofuels and food/fiber crops (see below). Thousands of small producers will be given assistance through direct aid in start up of sisal plantations on their small farms and through the provision of baby ostrich for ostrich production. Oil seed trees will also be planted on their land for future income from oil seed sales. Depending on the location of the sisal production, some of the production will be purchased in its whole form to produce paper. Paper will be made with a combination of sisal leaves, sugar cane leaves and recycled paper. Tens of millions of dollars of investment will be made in the refurbishing and start up of a paper plant that is now closed in central Maranhao. The facility will also purchase raw fiber from sisal producers who will process this fiber on their farm to produce fiber and mucilage. Fiber purchase will be targeted at small producers involved in ostrich production so the balance of mucilage from sisal plants can be used to feed ostrich and gain from both sisal fiber and ostrich sales. Sisal fiber will be used for the production of cord & other products. Ostrich production will be expanded in the state by adding incubation capacity for eggs and by expanding the number of breeding farms.
2) Coop Farm to Provide Opportunities for Landless Farmers & Demonstrate Best Biofuels Options
One of the best methods to assist small producers to avoid poverty is through increased food production and sale of crops for export using a communal farm approach. The problem with small farms is that they are inherently inefficient because of the inability to use mechanized equipment and lack of understanding of agronomic science to optimize production and value of products. An alternative to breaking up big farms into small farms and giving them to landless farmers is to buy large tracts of farm land and run them primarily as a cooperative farm (with the exception of small tracts for individual family production). This makes it feasible to enter into production of high value crops like sugar cane, soybeans, peanuts and other crops and use mechanization to improve productivity. It also allows for the planting of large tracts of native oil seed trees as a means to optimize oil production for biodiesel. As long as the coop farm actually redistributes income, it results in much greater income to each farmer in the coop and reduces the conflict between biofuels and small farmers. It also allows for use of good science to improve sustainability by reducing land use change impacts, utilizing new processes to provide fertilization and through full utilization of all products harvested from farms. UN FAO and Fund for Commodities are interested in an investment in Maranhao that would involve purchase of a large piece of land in Maranhao. The land would be commonly owned by a group of landless farmers and would provide an opportunity to jointly grow biofuel crops and food on the same land. It would involve the planting of sugar cane, oil seed trees, intercropping of nitrogen fixing food crops between tree rows and other silvicultural approaches. The agronomic plan for the use of the farm will stress sustainability results through higher yields, greater carbon reduction good soil and agronomic practices and other measures to insure environmental and economic health of farm operations. Farm management will be directed by the best teams of University agronomists who will devise plans to show how the farms can grow both food and fuel and provide a good source of income for farmers while providing oil, sugar and cellulose for biofuel production. The plan may also involve conversion of sugar cane to into intermediate products for final conversion at a bio-refinery as detailed in subsequent paragraphs.
3) Babacu Collection & Processing into Charcoal, Oil/Meal, Wood Pellets & 2nd Generation Fuels
Sustainable BioBrazil is in the process of forming alliances between the various collectors of babasu coconuts to devise a program for maximizing their income while also providing feedstock for the production of biofuels. They key to the approach is to overcome the near term problems such as access to babacu trees on farms or public land, destruction of babacu forests and cutting out of babacu collectors from harvest. The more important goal is to define a much broader role of babacu in the resource mix to enhance production of biofuels. This will first require improving the efficiency of harvesting and processing babacu so more coconuts are collected and processed more efficiently into a full stream of products. Hand collection and miles of walking with bags over shoulders will be replaced with use of vehicles and four wheelers with trailers. Hand processing of coconuts will be replaced with automated equipment with the same workers in the plant processing many many times the volume of coconuts per day. An equipment partner, Biodiesel Brasil, has developed automated technology to process babacu nuts into wood nuggets, oil seeds and other by-products. It also involves planting of additional babacu trees in areas where tree density is to low by culling areas where the tree density is too high. Through this strategy, the number of mature trees that are harvestable will jump from the 18 million hectares of trees in Brazil to 2 or 3 times that number and allow babacu to play a meaningful role in economic development, poverty reduction and provision of feedstock for biofuels.
Equally important is the utilization of technology in processing of babacu so that all of the resource is utilized. Currently most processing of babacu coconuts focuses on use of oil seeds for oil or meal. This leaves 86% of the coconut unutilized. In fact, the woody biomass in the endocarpal layer is of very high energy density (8500 mj per kg or about 25% higher than most coal). This makes it an ideal wood for production of charcoal and a very good feedstock for gasification into fuels (biomass to liquid or mixed alcohols). The exocarpal layer can also be used in production of cellulosic ethanol. Meal from pressing of oil from oil seeds can provide feed for animals. Babacu oil is an excellent feedstock for biodiesel, particularly in Brazil where there are no problems with cold flow. Use of new processes for conversion of babacu into biofuels will also allow for use of exocarpal layer, meal and other lower value parts for anaerobic digestion or use of the whole coconut minus the oil seeds for gasification.
The combined effort of increased access to the existing 18 million hectares of trees, planting of additional trees in farmlands now underutilized, mechanization of collection, machinery for processing and use of new biofuel conversion process could greatly augment the industry and move babacu from a minor consideration in the biofuels feedstock options in Brazil to a major feedstock source. Specific purchase orders to support these goals have already been obtained, including various purchase orders for vegetable oil and a 100,000 ton per year order from a UK coal electricity for babacu charcoal starting in 2010. Furthermore, the same buyer of babacu charcoal is interested in getting new babacu trees to be planted in order to produce "energy crops" as defined by EU power producer energy regulations. Coupled with this is the potential to earn carbon credits from the planting of babacu trees that can pay for most of the planting cost. This offers opportunities to plant trees in existing babacu forests to increase tree density and harvest viability and to offer higher income to babacu workers from planting trees, harvesting trees and processing babacu into a set of high value products very efficiently.
