The acquisition of land in Africa to grow non-edible crops whose seeds can be processed into biofuel has caused controversy.
An investigation by the Guardian newspaper revealed that half of the biofuel land identified between Mozambique and Senegal is linked to 11 British companies.
Some of these plan to use the land to grow Jatropha curcas, a poisonous plant with oil-rich seeds, which has been considered a good candidate for biofuels as it can be grown in arid places where food crops often cannot.
However, these claims have been challenged by Jamidu Katima of the University of Dar es Salaam, who told the newspaper: "Growing jatropha in a profitable way on dry lands is a myth. It needs water, fertilisers and pesticides to provide high yields."
Recently, East African Business Week reported that Ugandan company Pegasus Investments is moving into the production of Jatropha curcas, and hopes the plant will soon compete with coffee and bananas as one of Africa's leading cash crops.
Typical Guttridge equipment used in the oil extraction from seed industry includes:
Conveyors – screw conveyors – chain conveyors – belt conveyors
