São Paulo – A Brazilian company named BR África is developing agro-industrial projects in Africa and has already received inquiries to operate in production of ethanol on the African continent. The company was established eight years ago by college graduates from in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul, and one of the projects that is helping establish the organisation is production and industrialisation of cassava in the Congo.
According to the director general of BR África, Silmo Schuler, relations with the Congo started after contacts made by the Ministry of Agriculture of the country, whose representatives visited Brazil early last year. BR África established a partnership with the local government to develop the project. The company has 51% of the capital and the Congo, 49%. The idea is to use an area of 19,500 hectares for the cultivation of cassava and for the production of fermented flour, used for consumption by the local population, as well as producing flour for bread production.
Initially, however, 2,000 hectares of cassava will be cultivated. The industrial unit should start operating in two to three years, and the grinding capacity should reach 100 tonnes of cassava a day, generating 33 tonnes of flour. According to Schuler, the objective, in future, is to include local farmers and to produce other cassava products, like starch.
BR África was established aiming at working in partnerships with universities, governments and other institutions, developing the more commercial part of the project. In the case of the Congo and Angola, the University of Santa Cruz do Sul (Unisc) is also participating in the initiatives. The institution from Rio Grande do Sul is in charge of the areas of professional qualification of those involved, as well as follow up and inspection of the projects.
Regarding the project in Angola, BR África cannot yet disclose all the details, as the deal is in the closing phase, but it explains that it should operate in the development of 12 agricultural industry projects in the Kwanza South region. There, talks began due to contacts between Unisc and the Angolan Ministry of Education. According to Schuler, the plots of land have already been made available for the project and Unisc professionals have elaborated the project.
Schuler explains that the BR África objective is to make use of the know-how of its partners to develop projects in other nations. The African continent was chosen due to its sustainable development, eradication of poverty and hunger needs. "The agro-industrial sector is an area in which you manage to aid more people with the fewest funds,” explained the former scholar, regarding the BR África focus.
According to the director, there is demand for works in other African countries, but first the company plans to conclude one of those underway, only then to take on another. The idea, however, is to expand operation in future. Sudan, according to Schuler, has also made an enquiry about production of ethanol from sweet potato.
Apart from Schuler, the other BR África partners include Vilmar Thomé, in the area of Management, Vilton Lima and Marne Slongo, in International Relations, and Akhilesh Nair, in Electric Engineering. Schuler, whose initial graduation was Physics, was working for the Unisc Masters and Doctoral departments in Regional Development. BR África also counts on the services of other academics for specific works.
Contact:
BR África Consulting
Site: www.brafrica.com.br
Telephone: (+55 51) 3715 1746
*Translated by Mark Ament
