President Kikwete on 'bio-fuel' time bomb!

Kikwete warns on bio-fuel danger
(* SOURCE: Guardian, 14 Apr 2008. By Guardian Reporter, Boao, China)

President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania, who also serves as AU chairman, has urged the international community to take precautionary measures to avert the danger of reduced food production when looking for alternative sources of energy, particularly bio-fuel. Addressing the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) here over the weekend, Kikwete, on a state visit of China, said both food production and alternative energy were equally important.

``As we cherish development of alternative sources of energy for reducing dependency on oil, we request that this should not be done as an alternative to food production,`` he said. He expressed worries over the current tendency whereby resources like land, fertilizers and labour (key for food production) were now being used to generate alternative energy, cautioning that the trend might lead to a disaster if not taken seriously. ``Food resources are decreasing. Already there are food shortages. The trend has resulted into the soaring of food prices around the world, coupled with other social effects,`` said Kikwete. Banking on its vast land resources, most of which was still virgin, he said Africa could easily accommodate both food production and generate alternative energies.
On Africa-Asia economic cooperation, Kikwete called for stronger relations that would enable the continent break the deadlock and do away with conditional aid that had long pinned down its development. He said Africa was endowed with abundant but untapped natural resources, a fact that had led to widespread poverty.

Earlier, President Kikwete held official talks with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. He briefed the Swedish premier on the situation in Africa, particularly on civil strife, which he said was waning.

President Kikwete also used the opportunity to discuss with Reinfeldt the condition of the Tanzanian economy, which he said despite experiencing fluctuating fuel prices and inflation, had registered positive gains. He said time was ripe for the world to take necessary steps for checking the global rise in fuel prices.