AFRICABIZ VOL 2 - ISSUE: 115
July 15 - October 14, 2009
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Editor: Dr. Bienvenu-Magloire Quenum
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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Dear visitor and international investor,

We warmly welcome you, if this is your first visit to Africabiz Online - The ultimate newsletter on trading and investing in 49 sub-Saharan African countries. If you are a regular and faithful reader, welcome back.

- ANOTHER ASSISTANCE PROMISE FROM G8 - THIS TIME WE NEED TO WATCH OUT!

G8 leaders pledged $20 billion in aid on July 10, 2009, at L'Aquilla, Italy, to help poor nations - and as stated by the final Communiqué, African countries in particular, feed themselves. That is another promise from G8 leaders.

For years, G8 summit after G8 summit [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], Africabiz Online expressed doubts about G8 solving Africa's problems. We hereby reiterate our opinion that G8 will never deliver, with a nuance this time.

Indeed, this promise may be (partially) implemented, because Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and agribusiness international companies would be willing to fulfill it.

NGOs would do the massive lobbying to get funding from G8's countries governments. The latter being happy to comply because the implementation of the promise to assist African countries feed themselves would be strengthening their political and economic positions in poor countries.

As for the international agribusiness companies, they are already buying good arable lands in African countries - by several thousand of hectares, to set up huge agricultural concerns dedicated to the cultivation of crops to be transformed into bio-diesels and other non-edible products - to be exported to the Northern developed countries. So, this L'Aquilla-G8's decision is a good omen behind which these international agribusiness companies would hide to push for their agenda.

At first glance the fulfillment of the the L'Aquilla-G8's promise seems good for African countries. They would be getting much needed funding to develop agriculture. However, a brief analysis of the several implications of this "generous" promise shows that the danger exists that poverty and hunger would exponentially explode in African countries if the NGOs and the international agribusiness companies are left free to decide upon the policy (crops to develop and categories of seeds to be used) to implementing the promise.

Click here to read about: "G8-L'Aquilla's Promise to Assist African Nations Feed Themselves: The Time to be (more) on Alert!

- VIP MEMBERSHIP IS LIVE RUNNING

The VIP Members section is now running live. More on the matter is available at following link that is the permanent announcement page concerning VIP-Membership. Visiting said page, you will always take notice of what is showing live on the confidential newsletter - Inside Africa & Insights About Africa - dedicated to VIP Members.

- SERVICES AND PRODUCTS FROM Dr. QUENUM & ASSOCIATES / BUSINESSAFRICA (TM)

List of Products and Solutions to trading and investing in and out emerging nations - and particularly in sub-Saharan African nations - is here to review.

We draw your attention to the Jobs & Projects' platform that assists first, project-owners to tender for the best experts to carry out projects at very competitive costs, and, second, job-seekers to publish for free Résumés/CV to attract project-owners attention.

The Free and Pay-Per-Click advertisement platform is also the cheapest way to advertise for your business and drive traffic to your website.

- Contributor's Guidelines are here to review. Your contribution on "How emerging nations and particularly African countries / entrepreneurs could bridge the developing gap" is welcome.

Your feedback / objection / contribution is welcome. Visit WorldWide BizCenter, and choose General Information (as topic) to create a thread for discussion. On the top of the WorldWide BizCenter page, there is a HELP link to assist you making an efficient use of the discussion board. This link also is useful

Many thanks for dropping by and see you here on October 15, 2009

Dr. B.M. Quenum
Editor of AFRICABIZ

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA

- Several business opportunities - component parts of the Integrated Developing Scheme described in Africans, Stop Being Poor! are listed in following table.

1-SHEA BUTTER (5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13) 2- BLUE GOLD (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) 3- FREEZE-DRIED PAPAIN (20, 21, 22 and here) 4- KENAF (23, 24) 5- VEGETABLE OIL (25, 26, 27, 28) 6- CEREALS (30, 31, 32, 33) 7- FRUITS (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) 8- ESSENTIAL OILS (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)	9- ROOTS & TUBERS (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64) 10- FOWL BREEDING (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76) 11- FISH FARMING (78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87) 12- BIOMASS ENERGY (89, 90, 91, 92) 13- SUGAR CANE & PRODUCTS (93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99/100, 101, 102) 14- LIVESTOCK (103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 15- MISCELLANEOUS (113, 114, 115, 116

- MISCELLANEOUS SERIES:RENEWABLE ENERGY: PART III: THE ECONOMICS TO SETUP A SORGHUM PLANTATION

In developing countries and in African nations in particular, straw, hay and leaves - by-products of cereals's crops and tropical fruits's crops - are not used as raw materials to generate additional revenues.

A high proportion (if not the whole available volume) of maize's, corn's, rice's, and sorghum's straw and hay undergoes field burning. That is an astonishing waste of raw material to generating electricity when energy crisis is currently hampering industrial production in most African countries. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The previous delivery of this series, available here, briefly described the potential of hey/straw as raw material to producing energy/electricity and a table exposes sorghum plantations' yield with regards cultivars/species.

Dating back to year 2001, a delivery briefly exposed the cultivation of Sorghum as an Income Building Power for African rural communities

This delivery deals with the setting up of a plantation of red sorghum to obtaining "operational" quantities of hay/straw/sticks to producing electricity (- issue: isfront116.php - Oct 15, 2009 - Jan 14, 2010); (3) to producing bio-gas (- issue: isfront117.php - Jan 15 - April 14, 2010); and (4) to producing ethanol (issue: is118front.php - April 15 - July 14, 2010).

An investigation report is available at this link, that provides useful information about (1) soil preparation; (2) cultivars; (3) cultivars; (4) fertilizers (5); and (6) an estimate to establishing a 500 acres/202 hectares of plantation.

- ECONOMICS ABOUT THE SETUP OF 200 HECTARES OF RED SORGHUM PLANTATION

Combining results of above study and taking into account results published in this table available in previous delivery, 2.50 metric tons per hectare of sorghum-grain, 5.90 metric tons of hay/straw per hectare; and considering two crops per year, economics to establishing a plantation of 200 hectares of red sorghum are reported in table below:

Items	Amount (US$ x 1,000)
INVESTMENT
1- Land preparation: Land clearing with heavy machinery - hand clearing of stubs and shrubs - harrowing - ground leveling and so on.	80
4- Farming and general equipment: One 45 CV wheel type tractors - One 100 CV - water pumping engines - Etc.	220
5- Shelters and Buildings: 500 square meter open shelter - Storage facilities and offices - Etc.	150
6- Starting expenses: Feasibility study / Business Plan - startup agri-technical assistance. Etc. Click here for tentative terms of references covering the plantation establishment (Processing plant's Feasibility Study / Business Plan excluded).	45
Total investment	495
PRODUCTION LEVEL
Two harvests /year: [2.50x200= 500x2=1000 metric tonnes of sorghum-grains] + [5.90 x 200= 1180x2=2360 metric tonnes of hey/sorghum-straw] = 3360 metric tons of harvested products.
OPERATING COSTS
Operational Expenses: Seeds' acquisition, light-irrigation - equipment's maintenance - harvesting - insurance - utilities - fertilizers - phyto-treatment - staff and hands / management salaries - external management assistance, and amortization. Etc.	450
ONE METRIC TON PRODUCTION COST
Total Operational Expenses / Production level	US$0.134

Next delivery available on October 15, 2009, will deals with the utilization of the straw to producing electricity. The delivery here available describes the production of sorghum beer.

MORE ON STRAW AS RAW MATERIAL

1-Integrated Renewable Energy For Rural Communities: Planning Guidelines, Technologies & Applications By N. El Bassam and P. Maegaard (Hardcover - Jul 14, 2004) 2- Green From the Ground Up Sustainable, Healthy and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (Builder Guide) By David Johnston and Scott Gibson (Paperback - April 1, 2008) 3- Electricity in Agriculture & Horticulture By Selim Lemstr�m (Paperback - Aug 21, 2008) 4- Fundamentals of Rewable Energy By Aldo V. da Rosa (Hardcover - Aug 3, 2005) 5-Renewable Energy Resources By John Twidell (Paperback - Dec 16, 2005)

6 - Power Systems Economics Designing Markets for Electricity By Steven Stoft (Paperback - May 17, 2002) 7- A Guide To Rural Energy Independence By William H. Kemp (Paperback - April 1, 2006) 8- Energy Demand & Planning Report Number 31, (Watt Committee Report N� 31) Hardcover - May 5, 1999 9- Renewable Energy In Nontechnical Words By Ann Chambers (Hardcover - Oct 2003) 10- Fuels of Opportunity Characteristics and uses In Combustion Systems Third Edition By David Tillman and N. Stanley Harding (Hardcover - Feb 3, 2004)

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