Let's start with a joke:
Why did the Nigerian President think he was doing an excellent job...
...He drove to work in record time and found many free parking spaces. Then thought to himself...I've solved the traffic problem here overnight!
However, to the rest of the population in Nigeria there is some real suffering. People who were barely affording to find food due to inflation now find even less money in their pocket. I could continue on about how every person in the country is lamenting the sudden sharp increase in fuel prices but why? Everyone there already knows the pain and suffering.
Now there is a common saying in Canada...
When life gives you lemons.... Make Lemonade!
Which means take something bad and make it good.
BUT
Please pardon my language but prices increasing by TRIPLE to QUINTUPLE overnight? I think that statement is appropriate.
Well... here are three possibilities
- ONE: Make a shit sandwich!
Step right up and swallow the awful situation that the government has placed us in. Mmmmmm....delicious. NOT
No one is going to say this is a great situation and no-one just wants to take it. The question remains what to do about it? Obviously just swallowing it and saying 'great!' is a bad choice.
- TWO: Sit down in the middle of the big pile of shit and complain "This Stinks"
I'm sure a lot of people are going to take this option. Why? Because it is easy to grumble and complain about a bad situation. However, grumbling and complaining just makes things worse. How is it worse? Well, now you are broke because of the increased prices AND in a bad mood because of the complaining.
So, forget the complaining.
to quote Psalm 118:24
"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."....But pray for strength on that one because it is unbelievably hard when the paycheque isn't enough and expenses just grew by a huge amount
I hope its obvious I don't like the first two possibilities
I mention them because those are the two options that most people are going to be stuck with. What is my third option?
I wish I could say that I like the third option but honestly, it will give no hope to those who are struggling right now. For that I am truly sorry.
Option #3?
I'm sure every farmer out there already knows the answer:
Question "What do you do with a gigantic pile of shit?"
Answer "You let it settle, break down, then use it as fertilizer for the next crop"
Now: Before you decide to have me shot for such terrible advice. Please hang in with me and let me explain a little further.
You let it settle, break down, then use it as fertilizer for the next crop
Now, I mean that statement in two says: Figuratively and Literally.
At the risk of having you hate me even further let me state that I actually believe ending the fuel subsidy was the right move. While that makes me very unhappy to say the truth as I see it is this:
The governments money is YOUR money. It is YOUR taxes that the government is spending. If the government is paying a subsidy on fuel it just means that the government is taking your tax money and spending it to lower the price of fuel. But that still means you are paying for the fuel...just indirectly! But what if you aren't paying taxes? Well, the government can just print more and more money to pay for the fuel subsidy. I think you know what happens when the government prints more and more money though. Your Naira because worth less and less. That means that again you are indirectly paying for that fuel subsidy...just by lower currency value this time.
To put it more simply
If the fuel costs $2/liter to import from a foreign refinery it will cost Nigerians $2/liter. They either pay it directly and see how expensive the fuel is or they pay for it indirectly through taxes or by a devaluation of the Naira. In the end though the people will be paying the price
Back to my statement:
First: With a big pile of shit you.... Let it settle. Spreading fresh manure onto a crop is just a bad idea. It needs time to get less hot.
In the same way taking drastic measures a short time after the announcement of fuel subsidy ending is unlikely to go well.
Second: Let it break down. Right now I'm sure there is speculation of what the true effects of this change are going to be. When the fuel prices in Manila (Philippines) doubled, sure it hurt. However, many more people rode bikes. Many started walking. Shipments were made larger and less frequent so the overall cost increase wasn't as large as it could be. Other changes were more subtle...like instead of taking a car to buy groceries...buy them on the Grab app where someone on a motorcycle would get the order and bring it to your home using way less fuel than taking the personal vehicle.
People will adapt and find inventive ways to lessen the overall impact.
However once the idea has settled and people calm down. Once people see how the increased prices actually affect things. Then they can break down the bits that must be addressed.
Personally I'd place huge additional taxes on fuel for private vehicles and use that money to subsidize fuel prices on public transit. In that way those people rich enough to afford a vehicle are paying extra for those who cannot......but that's just my personal bias.
Here's the part I find exciting!
I mentioned that I literally meant this bad situation should be used as fertilizer for the next crop. Let me explain that a little further.
To do that I'll need to bring up a history.
Have you ever heard of a man named Rudolph Diesel?
He was the man who patented the modern Diesel engine (see his name there?). The Diesel engine he created was NOT designed to run on Diesel fuel. He actually designed it to run on:
Well, he initially designed it to run on powdered charcoal but that blew up his lab. After he repaired his lab and healed from his injuries he tried less volatile fuel sources and came up with Peanut oil.
Guess what. Nigerian Farmers can grow Peanut oil (aka groundnut)
Now you might say...But my vehicle uses gasoline? Why do I care about Diesel?
Okay. Let's look at the early gasoline engines. Let's go way WAY back to 1826 with one of the first engines patented by Samuel Morey. It was desgined to run on alcohol. Never heard about Mr. Morey? Okay, lets go to 1920 with a man named Henry Ford. Maybe you have heard of Ford motors? Same guy.
His original Model T was designed to run alcohol! The only reason that the cars evolved to use gasoline was (a) gasoline was cheaper and (b) alcohol was banned because people drank it.
Alcohol isn't banned these days and Gasoline isn't cheap so maybe it is time to look at alcohol again!
What can you use to make alcohol? Lots of stuff. Corn, Cassava, Sugar Cane, Sugar Beet, and many more crops!
Guess what: Nigerians farmers can grow feedstock for alcohol also!
Consider this for a moment
Nigerian Farmers are able to make vehicle fuel
🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺🔺
Now,
- They may not currently have the right crops planted.
- They might not have the expertise to get the best yield yet
- They might not now the process to convert the raw products into something you put in the tank.
But the fact remains that with a little development a farmer could make a crop that has a virtually guaranteed sale at a relatively high price!
When fuel was 40cents a liter there was no incentive for a farmer to even consider growing a fuel crop. However at $2/liter it might get more attractive. But I'll look at that in a bit.
First I want to explain why that is so huge!
Right now almost every dollar a Nigerian spends on fuel is money that leaves Nigeria and goes to a foreign company. I'm going to say it's likely a European or American company.
Think about that: Every time a Nigerian vehicle company fills up you are paying to make a rich foreign oil company richer. Or possibly a rich foreign freight company. Why do you want to make rich countries richer?
If the average Nigerian farmer can make fuel to sell then what?
Think about that: Every time a Nigerian vehicle company fills up with a biofuel you are supporting a local farmer. You are supporting your local community. You are helping to spread money to those vital people who work the land. Do you want to help out your fellow countryman?
Side benefit: If you are using a biofuel you are helping the environment by not pumping out additional oil from the ground
Good for your country. Good for your countryman. Good for the environment.
What's not to love??
Unfortunately also good for the auto repairman. Diesel engines run on straight oil require more injector cleaning. Gasoline engines that want to use alcohol have to have their rubber fuel hoses replaced.
The economics of biofuel
Now I'm going to make a few assumptions here:
First: That diesel fuel and gasoline sell for the same price of $2 USD / liter
and
Second: That farmers are able to grow their crops and process them.
I'll also run the numbers for two different types of trees. One for Diesel. One for Gasoline.
FIRST Crop : Palm Oil
Source: Pixabay
Peanut/Gound nut oil would work, but Palm gives better yield>
Yes. Palm oil.
.....That same oil that you can use for cooking.
.........It can be directly placed into a Diesel engine and it will run. It will clog the fuel injectors more quickly but it will run. However with minimal processing it can be converted to Biodiesel (the processing can be done at farm level). Biodiesel is actually cleaner and helps engines run longer than regular diesel fuel.
For the chemists out there conversion to biodiesel required separating the Fatty acids from the Glycerol by use of Potassium hydroxide. Once separated the fatty acids are great fuel and the Glycerin makes great soap or cough syrup
Now how about $$
Well, one hectare of Palm trees can actually produce up to 1000kg of Palm oil or 1087 Liters of Palm oil annually. If you were to pay $2/liter for the oil that would be $2164 / year or $ ONE Million Naira.
Yes, I know that figure is high. It will be purchased wholesale for less. There are processing costs. There are transportation costs. Lots of other things going on....but have to have some number to start with and ONE Million is a nice number.
SECOND Crop : Casasva root
Source: Pixabay
Now Cassava root yield is bigger AND smaller than Palm oil. How can it be both? Well, Cassava root has more root but gives less alcohol per kilo harvested. I read that a single hectare of Cassava can harvest up to 20 tonnes of root. I think that number is way too high...but that's the number I got.
Have you ever heard of Cassava beer? If so than you know that Cassava can be turned into alcohol. However, the alcohol will be low concentration probably only 6% and that will never burn in a gasoline engine.
However, Cassava beer can be turned into Cassava Liquor or Cassava Moonshine which has a much higher alcohol content! (60% or more). With additional distillation it is possible to hit the 95% range. That amount is ALMOST enough to put in a gasoline engine.
After distillation to very high potency that remaining 5% water has to be removed and that can be accomplished in many ways. I like using Zeolites because they adsorb water and can then be "dried out" to make them active again.
After you get 100% alcohol that could run in a gasoline engine but I'd probably mix it with 15% gasoline. Two reasons: The alcohol / gasoline mix work better and more importantly....Once you add 15% gasoline no-one an drink your vehicles fuel 😁
But back to the 20 tonnes of cassava root. At best that would make 1kg of alcohol per 4-5kg of cassava. So, maximum of 5000kg. As alcohol is lighter than water that 5000kg of alcohol would be 6000 liters of fuel. At $2/liter that would be almost $12,000 USD worth of pure alcohol or almost 5 Million Naira.
Then again, the thought of trying to process that much cassava into alcohol is, well, mindboggling.
Conclusion
I hope you don't misunderstand me.
I didn't write this article in order to say everything is great. it isn't
I didn't write this article to convince people to switch to biofuel they have their own problems
I didn't write this article to tell farmers to start making palm oil or alcohol I'm certain there is less profit and more work than I showed
I wrote this article to give an example that there may be a glimmer of hope in this dark time. There might be opportunities that you haven't seen. Look around and see what's out there. Look for creative ways to solve a problem. There might be an opportunity you have missed.
And pray
.....things are tough.
Final thoughts.
@jjmusa2004 as an agripreneur do you have thoughts on the viability of making biofuels in the light of high fuel prices?
@monica-ene as a farmer/homesteader and all round idea hunter what are your thoughts on growing Palm for oil or Cassava for alcohol?
@feesbamz I hope you are feeling better. I know things are tough and thank you for being the inspiration for this post.
@miztajovial can I get your thoughts on the article as a farmer who knows Cassava and other crops.