Alternative Agro-Fuels: Jatropha Cultivation in Mali & India

Alternative Agro-fuels: Jatropha cultivation in MaliIndia

Posted July 5th, 2007 on (downloaded by natureandpoverty.net on August 25 2008)

Hamza Hasan
Food First

Agro-fuels first entered the development discourse in the aftermath of the second oil crisis in 1980. Seen as a renewable energy source, many policy makers around the world supported increased production of Agro-fuels as a substitute for increasingly expensive imported oil. In the last few years, with increasing political instability in the Middle East, and rising oil prices, Agro-fuels are once again being promoted aggressively. Proponents of corn-based ethanol argue that in addition to reducing American dependence on imported crude oil, increased ethanol production will benefit rural economies and provide a solution to the farm crisis. However, as the increasing numbers of corporate owned ethanol plants testify; instead of increased rural development, the major beneficiaries of the ethanol boom are large agro-industrial corporations such as ADM. Since corn based ethanol production is unlikely to serve as an efficient medium of development, it is necessary to study alternative agro-fuels, and in particular, examine agro-fuels that may be beneficial to developing countries. The Jatropha crop is one such alternative agro-fuel. Jatropha production, as the case studies of Mali and India will illustrate, is labor intensive, does not compete with food crops for land, and most importantly, provides an engine for growth in rural economies.

With food prices reaching new highs, it is not only important to re-evaluate the food security implications of agro-fuel production but it is imperative to find an alternative to corn-based agro-fuels that threaten existing food supplies. Fuel oil extracted from the Jatropha plant, an inedible shrub with the capacity to grow in the world’s semi-arid regions, may provide an environmentally sustainable agro-fuel option that does not compromise the world’s existing food system.

Jatropha oil is extracted from the Jatropha Curcas plant. Originally known as a plant used for traditional medicine; the plant also produces small seeds which contain more than 30 % content of non-edible oil. Jatropha’s usefulness as an energy crop stems from its hardy physical characteristics. According to the WorldAgroforestryCenter, the Jatropha plant is drought resistant, can grow in a low quality arid soil, and requires minimum rainfall. In addition to its suitability as a side plant for food crops, the Jatropha plant also repels insects, requires little care, and can grow in tough arid climates, preventing soil erosion and making it an ideal fence to protect other plants. (1)

One of the best examples of a sustainable usage of Jatropha is found in the West African country of Mali. The Jatropha program in Mali began in 1993 with German Technical Assistance. The program not only aimed to use Jatropha oil as a fuel but also use Jatropha cultivation as a springboard for energizing rural economies. (2) The small village of Simiji has recently been transformed by Jatropha production. By crushing the seeds of the Jatropha plant and extracting the oil, village residents have found a renewable power source that does not conflict with the local food supply. Oil from the Jatropha plant, long considered useless, now powers a small generator. Simiji now has enough power to run 40 streetlights and give 60 families power at night. The usage of Jatropha in Simiji is not an isolated case of success in Mali. It is one of 700 communities that have installed a generator; which can run on plant oil, part of a larger state run project to electrify the country’s 12000 villages through a renewable energy source that does not harm the local food supply. Aboubacar Samake, head of the Jatropha program at the government funded NationalCenter for Solar and Renewable energy, noted that a number of foreign companies had shown an interest in developing a Jatropha industry in Mali. Encouragingly for the local villages, Samake said that the foreign companies had been told that no agro-fuels would be exported until Mali’s domestic needs were met. (3)

Another country that is also investing heavily in Jatropha production is India. Similar to Mali, the Indian Jatropha grows in the wild, does not require large-scale irrigation projects and can be harvested within two years of planting. In contrast to Mali, India’s investment in Jatropha follows a more conventional path of development in alternative energy resources. While the Jatropha plant in India is the same as the one in Mali, the goals of the Jatropha program in India are somewhat different. In Mali, the Jatropha plant was used to develop a renewable power supply for each individual village, however, in India, Jatropha planting is primarily aimed at reducing oil imports and achieving energy independence. Jatropha cultivation in India also received a strong boost after the President of India Abdul Kalam announced he was a supporter of the project. (4) Moreover, as the cultivation and harvesting of Jatropha is labor intensive, increased Jatropha cultivation is seen as a way of providing employment to the many of India’s rural poor, thus rejuvenating India’s rural economy. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly for India’s food supply, since Jatropha grows primarily in the semi arid regions where food crops would not be able to survive without expensive irrigation projects, Jatropha cultivation will not compete with existing food crops.(5) As a result, fuel from Jatropha plants will not alter the existing Indian food system.

A fork in the road

As noted earlier, although both Mali and India are investing in Jatropha as an alternative energy fuel, their respective Jatropha strategies are vastly different. Recently, Mali’s President Amadou Toumani Touré, hosted the World Forum for Food Sovereignty, and publicly declared the goal of achieving food security as one of the major policies of his government. (6) Thus, the Malian Jatropha project’s emphasis on the local sustainable usage of Jatropha as an agro-fuel comes as no surprise. In fact, it is part of a broader drive towards food sovereignty in the entire country.

In India, however, we note the slowly permeating influence of biotech companies and large agro-industrial corporations into the Jatropha industry. In 2004, India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, announced the creation of a Jatropha Genetic Enhancement Research Centre. This research facility would experiment with genetically modified varieties of the Jatropha Curcas plant while also helping farmers interested in commercially planting Jatropha.(7) The growing influence of large corporations is seen in the entry of Daimler Chrysler into the Indian Jatropha production market. The German automobile giant, working together with an Indian research organization CSMCRI, have attempted to adapt Jatropha oil for usage in commercially produced car engines. In fact, as part of a public relations campaign to raise awareness about Jatropha oil’s possible usage as an automobile fuel, a specially modified Daimler Chrysler C220 sedan toured India in April and May 2004, visiting 11 major cities.(8)

Thus, before endorsing Jatropha as an alternative agro-fuel, we must strike a note of caution. Mali’s usage of Jatropha purely on a grassroots level is commendable, and its decision to disallow foreign companies from commercializing Malian Jatropha production can serve as an example for other developing countries. The Indian government’s policy towards Jatropha, however, is a cause for concern. The government’s flirtation with corporate behemoths such as Daimler Chrysler and indulgence of biotechnology firms could end Jatropha’s utility to the Indian farmer, and will only serve to further enrich the pockets of large agro-industrial and energy corporations. At this stage, the Jatropha bandwagon is presented with a fork in the road. Whether to use Jatropha as part of a broader sustainable strategy for development, as is occurring in Mali, or to extend, as India seems to be doing, the tried (and largely unsuccessful) strategy of industrial agriculture into the field of Jatropha production. The corporate takeover of the Jatropha production – as it seems to be occurring in India – will undoubtedly lead to Jatropha becoming just another tightly controlled plantation based agro-fuel. In order for Jatropha to truly serve as a vehicle for rural development, the Malian model of small-scale sustainable production must become the dominant discourse in the use of Jatropha as an alternative agro-fuel.

References

1. Selvarajah-Jaffery, Rebecca. When oil grows on trees. World Agroforestry Centre.

2. Henning, Richard. Combating Desertification: The Jatropha Project of Mali, West Africa. Arid Lands, 2006

3. Tattersall, Nick. Malian Weed brings light to mud-hut villages. Reuters. May 2007.

4. Lele, Satish. The cultivation of Jatropha curcas Ratan Jyot.

5. Kalam, Abdul. President Abdul Kalam's Independence Day address. August, 2005

6. Radio Mundo Real. First Conclusions of the World Forum on Food Sovereignty. Nyéléni 2007.

7. Shukla, Srawan. UP to pioneer Jatropha research. Times of India. September 2004.

8. Press Release. Oil from a Wasteland - The Jatropha Project in India. Daimler Chrysler.