Green Options

Three different news items highlight the vast differences in viewpoint and the continuing uncertainty around the farming of Jatropha by small scale farmers as a feedstock for Europe’s refineries moving towards meeting the EU’s renewable liquid fuel goals.

Clarity on What Jatropha Can Deliver

At the recent Africa Biofuels Conference in Midrand South Africa, Vincent Volckaert the Regional Manager for Africa of D1 Oils Plant Science presented a paper titled “Jatropha curcas: beyond the myth of the miracle crop”.

Besides making it clear that Jatropha is not a miracle plant and like any other it needs water and fertiliser to produce biomass, he noted it was particularly sensitive to pests and disease when not grown as an intercrop. Volckaert stated that D1 Oil expected to release new seed in 2010 or 2011, that would have a yield of 2 tons of oil per hectare on well managed estates at maturity.

As the demand for biofuels increases, so too will food prices around the world.  The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s recent report notes that “the historic linkages between agriculture and the energy sector are becoming stronger and are changing in character.  Biofuel demand will continue to exercise upward pressure on agricultural prices for considerable time to come.”  Biofuel production based on agricultural commodities increased more than threefold from 2000 to 2007, and now covers nearly two percent of the world’s consumption of transport fuels. 

On Sept. 9th in Randall’s Island, NY, many artists, including board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews, will take the stage to help bring awareness to and raise funds for Farm Aid. Farm Aid began with the first 3 musicians in 1985 as an effort to bring awareness and assistance to family farms, and to help them compete in an aggressive corporate environment. Farm Aid achieves this through

[...]