Jatropha holds promise as a biofuel crop but its lack of cultivation history and crop improvement make the plant’s oil yield highly variable in both quantity and quality, according to a landmark report.
The report, Jatropha: A Smallholder Bioenergy Crop, was published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development this month. The aim of the report was to assess the economic potential of the plant for small land holders in developing countries. Its conclusions, however, will be of wide relevance to all those interested in jatropha agriculture.
Jatropha curcas has traditionally grown wild but in recent years been touted as a potentially lucrative crop by some for its ability to grow in arid zones with poor quality soils. The high oil content in its seeds can be turned into biodiesel relatively simply. On this basis, the plant is being promoted as a great candidate for sustainable biofuel supply – one that does not compete with food crops.
The FAO report acknowledges the potential for jatropha to be cultivated in dry and remote areas where food production is not viable. “However, to obtain sustained yields in degraded soils in dry areas, inputs such as water and fertilizer are needed,” the report finds.
The study says more research is needed to develop jatropha varieties with consistent yields while success will also require better farming practices for the crop.
“Many of the actual investments and policy decisions on developing jatropha as an oil crop have been made without the backing of sufficient science-based knowledge," the FAO report warns. "Realising the true potential of jatropha requires separating facts from the claims and half-truths.”
But Jatropha could eventually evolve into a high-yielding crop and may well be productive on degraded and saline soils in low rainfall areas, the report concludes. "Its by-products may possibly be valuable as fertilizer, livestock feed, or as a biogas feedstock, its oil can have other markets such as for soap, pesticides and medicines, and jatropha can help reverse land degradation."
By 2008, jatropha was planted on an estimated 900,000 hectares globally, 760,000ha in Asia, 120,000ha in Africa and 20,000 ha in Latin America. By 2015, it is estimated that jatropha will be planted on 12.8 million ha. The largest producing countries are forecast to be Indonesia, Ghana, Madagascar and Brazil.
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