May to September, 2008 - Exploring the viability of Jatropha biodiesel

In response to a request from a community group, we decided to explore the viability of organizing small holder rural farmers into a co-operative network focused on growing and producing biodiesel and/or bio-kerosene from the jatropha curcas plant. The plant species is able to fully mature in 5 years as well as to grow in dry land conditions. This latter characteristic is very attractive in a country that has faced prolonged and severe drought. Internationally, jatropha biodiesel is being touted as a pro-poor approach because the plant can be grown in areas that are not suited for food agriculture.

Extensive due diligence yielded the following concerns:

– Ensuring seeds used by farmers are high quality seeds (a lot of seed varieties are available, many of which result in substandard yields)

– No readily available farm models that can be examined for profitability on a small-scale (i.e. 5 acres or less) basis

– Invasive species that can undermine local biodiversity. The plant has been banned in Australia and New Zealand due to this reason.

– Plant toxicity – the seeds contain a chemical that was identified being potentially fatally toxic to humans. Other studies have not pointed to the same level of toxicity but definitely indicate the chemical is an irritant. Talks with local farmers revealed that they are opposed to growing the plant because of the toxicity issues. Many use vernacular terms that it is a witchcraft plant used for poisoning. However, even those who rejected witchcraft as valid stated that they would want a protective fence to prevent children and animals from accidentally consuming the plant’s fruit. We could not find any studies to indicate whether or not a non-toxic variety identified in Mexico could grow in dry land conditions (as opposed to the tropical conditions in which it grows). We also could not find any long-term studies which documented the long term effect on humans of working with and extracting the oil from jatropha seeds that are toxic/irritant. This is of particular concern because farmers can only afford rudimentary manual presses and protective gear would increase the operational costs for a population that is already surviving at less than $1 per day.

– Harvesting requires special equipment. Jatropha fruit needs to be harvested in the same way olives are harvested (a hand picker or special machinery). Coupled with the toxicity issue, the operational cost of harvesting jatropha is difficult to justify versus the cost of harvesting a crop like moringa oleifera which also yields biodiesel, grows on a similar cycle, under similar conditions, is non-toxic as well as used as a food source with some groups, has medicinal uses, can be used for water filtration, and, can be readily harvested by raking (the pods fall to the ground when they are ready).