Jatropha in India-Hindustan Petroleum Investment

The oily seeds of the bushy plant are used to create biodiesel, and nearly 2.5 million acres have been planted so far in India, one of the world’s largest producers. In fact, it is one of the most popular biodiesel crops around because harvesters can get a large output of oil from the seeds (producing four times as much fuel as soy, and 10 times as much as corn) while needing to put in only minimal care and resources for growth. Hindustan Petroleum and Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency plan to boost that by planting about 37,000 more acres on wastelands in India.

Hindustan Petroleum will refine the seeds from the harvest into biodiesel to sell across the state of Chhattisgarh. Jatropha is intriguing for biodiesel production because the plant grows in areas where edible crops fear to tread, so it is supposedly a non-competitor for farm land. But that doesn’t mean a whole lot if farmers can get more for a crop of jatropha seeds than another food crop they typically grow on their land. Additionally, the areas deemed “wastelands” are in fact used by land-right-less rural populations for grazing their herds. So jatropha cultivation – like most crops for biofuel and biodiesel – isn’t necessarily harmless and farming of it will need to be watched and regulated.

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Labels: Jatropha-Investment

posted by Sudha @ 8:29 PM