I read this post with interest as it reminded me a completely different story about jatropha. We are here talking about commercial farming of jatropha for international markets. I had in mind small scale culture of jatropha for local uses. The PREP (Programme Regional Energie Pauvrete – UNDP) promoted the establishment of multifunctional platforms in several countries of West Africa. The idea was to implement units providing energy services (battery charging, mills, huskers, pumps …) in rural villages devoid from electricity access. The impact pathways of these programs were supposed to lead toward improved nutrition, development of IGAs and women empowerment. The units were initially driven by diesel engine. And here came the jatropha as a low cost and endogeneous alternative to diesel. In those cases, jatropha was cultivated not as a major crop but on the borders of the plots and produced both energy services and ecosystem services by avoiding erosion and water run-off. After pressing to extract the oil, the compost from the fruit pulp can even be used as fertilizer or to feed livestock.
So yes, there are other ways to think about jatropha and this crop can even be part of an integrated approach toward development…
I read this post with interest as it reminded me a completely different story about jatropha. We are here talking about commercial farming of jatropha for international markets. I had in mind small scale culture of jatropha for local uses. The PREP (Programme Regional Energie Pauvrete – UNDP) promoted the establishment of multifunctional platforms in several countries of West Africa. The idea was to implement units providing energy services (battery charging, mills, huskers, pumps …) in rural villages devoid from electricity access. The impact pathways of these programs were supposed to lead toward improved nutrition, development of IGAs and women empowerment. The units were initially driven by diesel engine. And here came the jatropha as a low cost and endogeneous alternative to diesel. In those cases, jatropha was cultivated not as a major crop but on the borders of the plots and produced both energy services and ecosystem services by avoiding erosion and water run-off. After pressing to extract the oil, the compost from the fruit pulp can even be used as fertilizer or to feed livestock.
So yes, there are other ways to think about jatropha and this crop can even be part of an integrated approach toward development…