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Hello everyone
I am interested in getting some industry feedback on a number of issues relating to bio-fuel. Presently, bio-fuel is more established in Asia than in Africa, where opinion is divided about whether it is a good idea or not. Commercial bodies are eagerly waiting on the sidelines to start growing in South and Eastern African if and when policy support is forthcoming.
I have noticed a few of the big companies heralding jatropha as a great tool for rural economic development in Africa. The main advantages, they say, are the fact that it can grow in marginal soils in semi-arid climates, that is requires minimal inputs and that it will provide energy to remote rural areas which will speed economic development. Small-scale farmers are valuable in preserving bio-diversity so I am interested in knowing whether cultivation via outgrowers is economically viable or whether large plantations are the only realistic option.
From those that work in the industry, I am seeking answers to a few questions:
1. Does jatropha produce economically viable yields without irrigation regardless of where it grows?
2. At expected yields in a typically marginal agricultural area, what is the minimum economically viable acreage (given labour requirements, transport & processing costs etc?)
3. What are the implications of growing jatropha on local subsistance food production? I'm not talking about examples where large scale food production has been replaced by feed-stock but on a local level, where small changes in farming practice can have widespread impacts on food prices and availability that affect the most vulnerable in society.
While it is clear the bio-fuel ticks a lot of boxes as far as energy provisioning and emission reduction, it is especially critical for more information to be made available on the consequences of promoting it's spread in the developing world.
Looking forward to some debate on these issues....
I am interested in getting some industry feedback on a number of issues relating to bio-fuel. Presently, bio-fuel is more established in Asia than in Africa, where opinion is divided about whether it is a good idea or not. Commercial bodies are eagerly waiting on the sidelines to start growing in South and Eastern African if and when policy support is forthcoming.
I have noticed a few of the big companies heralding jatropha as a great tool for rural economic development in Africa. The main advantages, they say, are the fact that it can grow in marginal soils in semi-arid climates, that is requires minimal inputs and that it will provide energy to remote rural areas which will speed economic development. Small-scale farmers are valuable in preserving bio-diversity so I am interested in knowing whether cultivation via outgrowers is economically viable or whether large plantations are the only realistic option.
From those that work in the industry, I am seeking answers to a few questions:
1. Does jatropha produce economically viable yields without irrigation regardless of where it grows?
2. At expected yields in a typically marginal agricultural area, what is the minimum economically viable acreage (given labour requirements, transport & processing costs etc?)
3. What are the implications of growing jatropha on local subsistance food production? I'm not talking about examples where large scale food production has been replaced by feed-stock but on a local level, where small changes in farming practice can have widespread impacts on food prices and availability that affect the most vulnerable in society.
While it is clear the bio-fuel ticks a lot of boxes as far as energy provisioning and emission reduction, it is especially critical for more information to be made available on the consequences of promoting it's spread in the developing world.
Looking forward to some debate on these issues....