Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare in VICTORIA FALLS
ZIMBABWE is accelerating its transition to renewable energy and fuel security, with Government targeting annual ethanol production of 600 million litres by 2035.
The ambitious target was revealed during bilateral engagements between Zimbabwe and South Africa on the sidelines of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Joint Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Agriculture, Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture underway in Victoria Falls.
Speaking after meeting South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said Harare was now shifting the strategic direction of the sugar industry towards ethanol production.
“We shared experience with South Africa on our ethanol escapades and the success that we have now blending petrol at E20. South Africa is willing to see some lessons from Zimbabwe on how we are doing that,” said Dr Masuka.
“And within Zimbabwe, we are changing the whole sugar industry direction from producing sugar from sugarcane to producing more ethanol from sugarcane. We want to produce 600 million litres a year by 2035 from the current 155 million litres that we produce a year.”
Zimbabwe’s ethanol blending policy, operationalised in 2013, has become one of the country’s most significant energy and economic interventions.
Initially introduced to ease fuel shortages and reduce the petroleum import bill, the programme has since evolved into a strategic pillar underpinning energy security, foreign currency savings, rural industrialisation and environmental sustainability.
