Sharing knowledge on Typha applications
Cattails have been studied by two research teams affiliated at the College of Agricultural Engineering of the Technical University of Madrid, Spain, in different contexts: the Agro-Energy Group (GA-UPM), partner in the European project Life Biomass C+, and the CEIGRAM, partner in the project entitled ‘Typha’ that is being carried out in Nigeria. Both groups maintain regular contact to share knowledge on cattails and be updated on the progress made in the respective projects. Thus, progress made on the research conducted in Nigeria for cattail exploitation has been disseminated in a workshop held in UPM on 29 March 2019. Dr. Fernando Escribano, coordinator of the Typha project and adjunct professor of the University of Maryland (USA), gave a lecture on ‘Research and development of novel technologies for the economic conversion of typha biomass into biogas and animal feed in Northern Nigeria’. The Typha project is a research action framed within the project TRIMING, supported by the World Bank and the Government of Nigeria. In essence, it aims at turning a threat into a resource; the concept is to take advantage of the cattail expansion in the Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme by using cattail biomass to produce biogas and ensilage. Information on this project can be found at https://typhaproject.com/index.php/context/. The workshop was attended by a wide audience, including representatives of the Nigeria Embassy in Spain, UPM professors, PhD students and members of the GA-UPM.
Dr. F.Escribano, coordinador del proyecto Typha (tercero desde de la izquierda).
