Towards sustainable charcoal production

STAFF REPORTER

WINDHOEK

Mbati Tjiho is a generational farmer who traded in his 25-year office job to explore his passion for farming in 2017.

Farm Winnie, which was a livestock farm, is located close to the town of Outjo in the Kunene Region.

Tjiho has seen first-hand the impact of bush encroachment on his family farm.

“Some farms in my area have much more grass than our farm. Our farm was overgrazed and encroached. Today the grass does not grow that high, but it is something I am correcting.”

Tjiho realised that there was an opportunity in the encroaching bush.

“It is a huge problem for livestock grazing. Some people have even started adding value to the bush., either for charcoal production, firewood production, or biochar and many other products. The reason why I embarked on bush thinning was to improve the grazing capacity of the farmland.”

Tjiho says when he started farming, his father was doing some charcoal production, but he did not know how big the production should be for it to be profitable.

“Unfortunately, my father passed away at the end of 2017 and I had to take over the operations of the farm. At the beginning of 2018, I became a member of the Namibia Biomass Industry Group (N-BiG)”.

With their assistance, they assessed the vegetation composition.

“We did the calculations per hectare as well as for the overall farm and concluded that there is a lot that I can do here. However, I did not have much experience then, so I had to knock on different doors in the industry. I also then became a member of the Namibia Charcoal Association (NCA).”

Going big

Tjiho says when he took over from his father, the production was very small.

“My father had 12 kilns; this would produce enough to supply two to three trucks per year. I used my savings to acquire more and push our numbers to 30 kilns.”

Charcoal is an essential export commodity and the demand is rising globally. Namibia ranks among the top ten charcoal-exporting countries.

As Tjiho explains, he quickly realised that the real driver of the charcoal industry today is the demand for quality products.

“I realised the issue of demand and the requirements of the customers where the products are sold; especially in Europe the customers are conscious about their products. They need to meet environmental and social standards. This was when I first heard about the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).”

Sustainability guaranteed

There are policies and standards in place to ensure sustainability and environmentally sound practices within the charcoal industry in Namibia. One such gold standard of quality environmentally practices is that of FSC certification.

FSC promotes responsible management of the world’s forests by allowing consumers a way to identify and support products that are derived using responsible, fair and sustainable practices.

For this, FSC sets standards and provides a system for certification of organisations which want to market their products as FSC certified.

Namibia has 1.6 million hectares of FSC-certified area with approximately 320 landowners/ managers. For a supplier to become FSC certified, they would need to meet certain requirements, which include social aspects such as providing quality living and safe workspaces, as well as sound environmental practices by ensuring only encroaching species are harvested and that this is done sustainability.

“At first it sounded like an insurmountable task, a big one. But we had the product and we needed to sell it. I am on the production side. I don’t process, I sell in bulk to processors who package the charcoal.

“Most of the processors and buyers are FSC certified, and of course, the rate for FSC suppliers is higher than non-FSC.”

Tjiho says he then approached the NCA and they connected him to the Centre for the Modernisation of Operations (CMO) Group, which offers services to natural resource-based industries and manages the FSC group scheme for charcoal producers in Namibia.

“Becoming an NCA member opened this door for me. The association was instrumental in assisting me with the necessary steps for certification.”

Tjiho says there are requirements that a producer must meet to become FSC certified, such as protective clothing, having first-aid kits, housing and ablution facilities, training workers, and putting physical structures in place.

He says he has always wanted a sustainable approach to his business and becoming FSC certified just fast-tracked his plan.

He says another important aspect of FSC certification is that they require good record-keeping.

FSC-certified producers are regularly inspected by external auditors from accredited certification bodies.

“As such, your activities are monitored and evaluated. This is a good business practice. In any business, you need to maintain record-keeping,” says Tjiho.

He adds that while the process may require effort at the outset, complying with the FSC standards is not difficult to maintain.

“It is not difficult for you as a producer, or as the owner of the operation. In the beginning, it might be a little bit difficult because of the cash flow.”

Tjiho also notes that comparing his rate per tonne to other non-FSC producers, his average is N$2 050 per tonne compared to the about N$1 600 per tonne they receive.

“Then, of course, there is the guarantee or certainty that once your product is ready the processor will take it. There is a buyer and even if your buyer is full you can go to another buyer who is FSC certified.”

When asked if he would recommend the process to other farmers, Tjiho says, “Definitely. I have even told my neighbours to get certified. It is a huge advantage. I will tell everybody to go for FSC, especially for producers who want to sell their charcoal for export. My observation is that if you do an investment today, tomorrow it will be an asset to you.”