Permagri SA started in July 2003 as an affiliate of our main company, Bio Récolte SA which grows Black Sigatoka resistant bananas, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and also produces bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, and gourmet mushrooms on a pilot scale. Permagri SA currently has a vitroplant acclimatization unit and field production activities, in order to establish agro-processing facilities. Permagri SA is initiating activities in renewable energy from biomass with a pilot project on Jatropha, and a wood stove production project that would help reduce indoor air pollution.
Contact Information
Permagri SA's action is two-fold: increasing the biomass production through Jatropha and combustible wood plantation; and; introducing more efficient use of wood and rice hulls in cooking stoves. Increasing biomass production would include the promotion of woodlot plantations at the community level; and; more efficient use of wood for cooking purposes. These activities would include the promotion of improved indoor and outdoor wood burning stoves in rural and urban communities. Permagri SA is one of the promotors of a related initiative to be launched at the national scale.
Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas
Permagri SA intends to address social and cultural barriers by facilitating dialogue amongst users and regulatory groups to discuss new stoves, smoke reduction, health benefits, convenience, and time savings. These efforts would help families in the appropriate and efficient use of the wood resources, prioritize the comfort and convenience of women and, reinforcethe values of cleanliness and time saving.
The project aims to address demand through a social marketing campaign to be coupled with Government support on regulatory terms and consumer credit mechanisms for energy products and services.
Permagri SA intends to use previous knowledge and experience of work done in the region to optimize local materials use, and offer a standardized product that would have a positive impact on indoor air quality.
Permagri SA is also promoting a tripartite partnership with the Government and a Foundation that would work on renewable energies, indoor air pollution, and health monitoring.
Relevant Publications or Studies
None noted
Our Contribution to the Partnership
Permagri SA hopes to contribute to the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air by: implementing projects that deliver clean cooking technologies to rural and urban households on a large scale; sharing experiences and expertise with other partners in the areas of market development, innovation in products and services, overcoming social and cultural barriers, and monitoring exposure to air pollution and health effects; and; influencing policy at the national level through awareness creation, research, and information dissemination.
