Performance of Jatropha Biodiesel Production and Its Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts - A Case Study in Southern India

Abstract

Abstract:In India expectations have been high on production of biodiesel from the oil-crop Jatropha. Jatropha is promoted as a drought-and pest-resistant crop, with the potential to grow on degraded soil with a low amount of inputs. These characteristics encourage hope for positive environmental and socio-economic impacts from Jatropha biodiesel production. The purpose of this study was to explore the performance of Jatropha biodiesel production in Southern India, to identify motivational factors for continued Jatropha cultivation, and to assess environmental and socio-economic impacts of the Jatropha biodiesel production. 106 farmers who have or have had Jatropha plantations were visited and interviewed regarding their opinion of Jatropha cultivation. The result indicates that 85 percent of the farmers have discontinued cultivation of Jatropha. The main barriers to continued cultivation derive from ecological problems, economic losses, and problems in the development and execution of the governmental implementation of the Jatropha programme. The Jatropha characteristics were overrated, and the plantations failed to provide income to the farmer. A common factor for the farmers who continued Jatropha cultivation was that they had the economic means to maintain non-profitable plantations. As the Jatropha programme was not as successful as expected, the expected positive environmental and socio-economic impacts have not been realized.

Engineering the Jatropha Hype in Indonesia

“…Thus, the early doubt about Jatropha productivity-expressed by the Ministry of Agriculture in mid-2006-was one of the main reasons for the program's failure. A recent report that evaluated Jatropha investment in Africa and elsewhere also reported a similar situation [4,5,17,59].…”

“…Jatropha plantations have turned out to be unprofitable [4]. Many farmers have also discontinued their involvement with Jatropha, with a study in 2010 reporting about 85 percent of farmers in India having stopped the cultivation of Jatropha [5]. Since the land area covered under Jatropha cultivation is considerably low, far below the GEXI expectation [6], there is some debate about the extraordinary global collapse of Jatropha initiatives [7,8].…”

Viabilidad económica y financiera de sistemas silvopastoriles con Jatropha curcas L. en Manabí, Ecuador

“…Esto ocurre por ejemplo en India, el subsidio para pequeños productores fue de aproximadamente el 90% para los sistemas de irrigación y entre 40-100% para la preparación del suelo. Los fondos provienen de diferentes fuentes privados e incluyen los gubernamentales (32). En México, los subsidios no cubren todos los costos reales de establecimiento y mantenimiento.…”

“…This happens in India, the small producer's subsidy was approximately 90% to cover irrigation system and soil preparation about 40-100%. The funds come from different private sources and include government funds (32).…”

Economic Impact and Challenges of Jatropha curcas L. Projects in North-Western Province, Zambia: A Case of Solwezi District

“…Fertilizer and farm management trainings were other incentives offered by these Jatropha promoting organizations. Each individual farmer was expected to plant 1000 Jatropha trees within a period of one year, as Jatropha was being regarded as a plant good for livelihood broadening strategy, bio-energy supply and socio-economic development for the rural communities [13,21,22].…”