Language: English Original: English AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (ESIA) REPORT SUMMARY FOR THE ORGANIC SUGAR PROJECT OF PURE DIETS MOZAMBIQUE S.A. IN MOZAMBIQUE 0CTOBER 2015 E&S Team: Erika AUER, Senior Social Development Specialist, ONEC3 Kelello NTOAMPE, Environmental Scientist, ONEC3 Sector Director: K. DIALLO Regional Director: K. MBEKEANI Resident Representative: J. RIBEIRO Division Manager: M. CISSE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (ESIA) SUMMARY PURELIFE ORGANIC SUGAR PROJECT 1. INTRODUCTION: This environmental and social impact assessment summary presents the process, approach, outcomes and management plan for the Pure Diets Mozambique SA (herein referred as PDMSA) organic sugarcane cultivation, sugar production and cogeneration (also referred to as ‘cogen’) power plant project proposed at Malangane, Moamba district Maputo Province in Mozambique. The project is located to the South of the Inkomati River bank, in Sabie Administrative Post. Moamba is well connected by road and rail. The distance between Maputo and Moamba is 80 km. The Pure Life Group is working under the brand “Pure Life” and is operational in several other countries to shift conventional agriculture practices to organic farming. Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies purely on techniques such as green manure, compost, green harvesting and biological pest control. Organic farming does not uses any chemical, fertilizers or pesticides in the farming practices. Green manure, bio fertilizers bio pesticides are used in farming that have no adverse impact on environment or soil fertility. Organic farming is a strategic fundamental choice for the farmer and PDMSA believes that it is the unique way to ensure a rational and sustainable management of natural resources. The Pure Life Group operates as an organic foods supply chain through its 6 major legal entities in 8 countries with direct access to about 90 boutique corporate consumers / retailers across the world. As supply chain managers, the Group is involved in the entire farm to fork spectrum from soil preparation to final dispatch of goods to the end customer. It has a team of technical experts handling each level of the supply chain; market analysis, product development, research and development, soil preparation, farming, farmer dialogue and training, production, quality check, food safety, warehousing, dispatch, logistics and distribution. The Group also collaborates with local agricultural universities in the countries where it has operations to provide technical support to the farmers. It works with over 22000 farmers and over 79000 ha of farmland, some of which are under various organic food certification process. As well as one affiliate organic mill also in India, which is the source of its organic sugar supplies. Pure Life Group also works with farmer groups and has organic food and feed projects in Vietnam, Mozambique and Latin America (in LatAm projects are at nascent stage.) It ensures production and supply of organic produce, including sugar, by deeply involving itself at the grass root level. The company through its team of technical experts in these countries engages in closely monitoring the produce right from soil preparation and overseeing the farm practices to critically observing and evaluating every step of the production processing. Its project development team identifies local farmers willing to learn and convert to organic farming. Through continuous education and training sessions, Pure Life helps farmers take on organic and Fairtrade practices. Its experts interact with farmers, test soil and seedlings, monitor farming practice, record relevant data required for inspections and audits by organic certification bodies, and ensures compliance with the standards. It has Field Officers trained in imparting knowledge of organic farming. These experts work with farmers to help them develop farmland and farming activities and practice which meet organic requirements. Pure Life staff organizes regular trainings at its project sites to ensure that the farmers are constantly in touch with the latest standards to be followed. It also provides financial support through distribution of free organic agricultural inputs. The Group has a certification team at its New Delhi office, which works with projects and farmers across India and elsewhere. The Group’s production team regularly monitors the production from the perspective of all the standards like food safety, quality assurance, HACCP, GMP, social and environmental aspects, OSH etc. It ensures that all units have food safety certifications such as ISO 22000, HACCP, Kosher, and Halal if required. The Group also has track record working with demanding and varied certification agencies worldwide such as OneCert, USDA Organic, FDA, Fair Trade, Control Union and EcoCert. The company has in the past worked with farmers who own their own land, but the company is are closely involved in monitoring farm production and processing activities. It is this wealth of experience working with local farmers and global organic standards which the Group’s management brings to PDMSA. The following table provide a brief overview of Pure Life operations worldwide. The below acreage is totally owned by the farmers, which the Group works with and trains to promote organic farming. Pure Life Group Projects Overview (Organic Crop Production) Name of Country No. of Projects No of registered farmers Reg. area (ha) Tanzania 7 10047 55205.455 Vietnam 7 1361 3575.97 Mozambique 2 2329 8274.35 India 30 8449 12248.717 GRAND TOTAL 46 22186 79304.492 Pure Life Group Projects Overview (Sugar Processing) Name of Country No. of Projects Vietnam 5 India 3 PDMSA has proposed to set up new sugar mill of 3500 tonnes of cane per day (TCD) expandable to a 5000 TCD capacity along with a 12 megawatt (MW) capacity co-generation power project for captive consumption. PDMSA has also proposed to cultivate 4311hectares (ha) of land for organic sugarcane in a phased manner. An additional 650 ha of land shall be used for setting up necessary infrastructure like factory, roads, housing, and reservoirs. Out of this 650 ha, 200 ha is reserved for the factory. The power generated by the cogeneration plant will be utilized for its own consumption and irrigation facilities. 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION: 2.1 Description: PDMSA proposes to implement the organic sugar production 0.45 to 0.9 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cane per year and a sugar mill of 3500 TCD capacity expandable to 5000 TCD for 240 days. In addition, PDMSA will establish a captive cogeneration power plant by end of year 2017. The project will produce sustainable and organic sugarcane and intends to use innovative agriculture practices to support and enhance soil fertility while simultaneously fixing organic matter and carbon in the soil and reduce the environmental and social impacts of the production. Land clearing will be by mechanical methods. Land clearing and preparation will employ procedures to minimize release of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Cleared biomass will not be burnt but chipped and ploughed into the soil during land preparation stage or used to produce compost. Larger biomass will be brought to the plant site and stored for use for producing power during operations. Irrigation systems will be installed, followed by the planting of the first commercial crop. A variety of irrigation systems will be used including centre pivots, semi-solid sprinkler and sub-surface drip systems in order to optimise agricultural yield and ensure efficient water management for the specific soil. The water rights are issued to all water users based on the water availability and the command area under consideration by the regional water authority Administração Regional de Águas – South (ARAsul). ARAsul will inspect and monitor all the water users in the area every month based on the area under irrigation. PDMSA’s irrigation engineer will monitor the abstraction to ensure compliance with ARAsul requirements. The project will use water from the Corumana dam, which has water storage capacity is 881 million cubic meters without gates. The Mozambique government has provided the approval for installation of gates at the dam during 2016 to 2018 to further increase its storage capacity. After installation of gates the estimated storage capacity of the dam would be 1240 million cubic meters. The command area of the dam for irrigation is 33,000 hectares. Water rights have been given to various stakeholders for irrigation up to 23,000 ha including PDMSA’s 4311 ha. PDMSA has water rights for 43.11 million cubic meters/ annum. ARAsul authorities have confirmed that this quantity of water that can be sustainably abstracted and will not have any adverse effect on the water resources in the area. PDMSA currently has a permit for water usuage, but a more permanent water concession is being discussed with the government to be provided by July 2016; this permit will be valid for 50 years. The Mozambique Government has also commenced the construction of Moamba Major dam which is expected to be completed in 5 years with the same capacity as that of Corumana dam. This would be advantageous for the project as it will supply water to Maputo city, thereby freeing up water from the Corumana dam for agricultural and industrial users downstream. The project site located nearer to both the dams, and hence it has got high assurance of water supplies. Planting and harvesting of sugar cane will be done using mechanical planters and equipment respectively. In- field tractor-trailer combination will transport cut sugar cane. Since the sugar content is highest at the base, cane will be cut as close as possible to the ground. The remaining cut will be the base for new cane growth (ratoons) in the following season. The crop is typically replanted after 6 to 8 ratoons. During the replanting phase, minimum tillage techniques will be implemented to minimise the release of GHGs. The replanting schedule will also allow for a fallow crop.