Re-using agricultural and agro-industrial wastes in West Africa (Agro-gazélec)

With over a million cashew nut producers, West Africa accounts for more than 50% of the world’s production. The level of raw materials processing locally remains low, but is seeing strong development which is magnified by electricity demand and waste creation, particularly in Benin and across Côte d’Ivoire.

The highly-polluting storage of cashew shells is giving rise to serious problems for the populations, and threatens ecosystems. Within this context, the FFEM is supporting the recycling of this biomass waste via a gasification process which generates electricity. While also limiting the volume of these wastes, this recycling is making West Africa’s cashew factories more competitive and more self-sufficient in energy.

The project comprises 5 components:

1. Capitalising on the technologies deployed in Cambodia for other biomasses in the framework of a previous initiative supported by the FFEM, adapting these to cashews.
2. Providing knowledge transfer between the Cambodian industries and processors in Benin and the Côte d’Ivoire via personnel exchange and factory testing.
3. Getting agro-industrial project sponsors on board and ensuring the organisational, financial and technical infrastructure.
4. Initiating the works, ensuring commissioning of the producer gas facility, training personnel and working with stakeholders.
5. Showcasing the merits of this, leading dialogue with institutions and creating integrated training programmes with universities.
   
   
   
    

• Improving competitiveness of the whole cashew agro-industrial sector in West Africa, and creating jobs.
• Reducing waste that is both toxic and difficult to deal with.
• Minimising reliance on emergency diesel generators, which are highly polluting, and providing better access to electricity supplies.
• Promoting CSR policies.

The project is the result of capitalising on an FFEM-supported project in Cambodia, on the Kulen and Sra Em sites. It stands out with its objective of implanting gasification technology in West Africa, something not previously found there. The push for change is intended to integrate the recycling of agro-industrial waste within the sectors themselves, taking inspiration from public policies implemented in Vietnam, India and Brazil. The processing of cashew nut shells being little developed globally, the project promises technological innovation that can be reproduced in other countries with cashew nut sectors.