Thursday, 22. January 2009
DEG promotes jatropha research in East Africa
- 466,000 euros from special funds of the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development provided
- Which types produce the best yields under which conditions?
- Contribution to climate protection by promotion of environmentally friendly fuel
Energy demand is increasing all over the world. Meeting this
demand requires the development of alternative energy sources. One
possibility is the utilisation of the jatropha plant. However,
comprehensive know-how on suitable cultivation methods is still
missing. Therefore DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und
Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, is supporting the setup of eleven
test plantations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The coordinator of
this project is the Kenyan project finance advisory and consulting
firm Pipal Ltd. (Pipal), complemented by eleven East African
agribusiness companies, which will contribute their experience of
cultivation, processing, storage and transport of agricultural
products. Scientific assistance is furnished by internationally
recognised jatropha experts and local research institutes. The
private partners contribute 536,000 euros to the project, an amount
which DEG complements with 466,000 euros from the Public-Private
Partnership (PPP) Programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Jatropha is a tropical plant whose non-edible oil fruits are used
for the production of alternative fuels. The plant can grow on dry
soils, which may be otherwise unsuitable for the cultivation of
food crops. The experience of growing jatropha as a commercial crop
is very limited.
This is where the project comes in: Jatropha plants will be
cultivated on test plantations of ten hectares each at different
locations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Over a period of three
years it is intended to identify seed provenances which produce the
best oil yields under varying conditions, such as soil conditions,
water and nutrient content, and type of cultivation (mixed or
monocultivation). Information on oil extraction from the seed and
processing for commercial use will also be analysed. This data will
be collected and scientifically evaluated with the aim of assessing
the commercial viability of the production of jatropha in East
Africa. The benefits of the project include: potential usage of
land otherwise unsuitable for cultivation; development of optimum
cultivation and production processes for jatropha; the promotion of
a low-emission fuel which may contribute to mitigation of climate
change.
In India, DEG has already supported a jatropha project. In
cooperation with Daimler AG, tests on the cultivation of jatropha
were run in different climate zones of the country. The test
results have already revealed the potential of the plant as a
supplier of environmentally friendly energy. DEG hopes that the
research in East Africa will tie in with these positive
results.
Attached please find a Pdf-File for downloading.
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