THREE-YEAR WAIT: The crop entails a gestation of over three years before commercial yields materialise.

JATROPHA, A humble weed of the tropics, long ignored for any of its potentialities has lately come to be synonymous with a plethora of options that tantalisingly embody all desirable virtues and shun all dreaded negatives in one fell swoop.

Alternative biofuel, renewable energy, sustainable rural agriculture, crop for the arid tropics, clean development mechanism, carbon credits, rejuvenation of rural landscape, independence from imported crude, forex savings, clean-green fuel and several other epithets have been showered liberally to kindle an interest in this forgotten weed.

Merits every adjective

Strangely, jatropha merits every one of these adjectives in a given context. Yet, efforts in converting this weed into a commercial crop must necessarily precede for any of these descriptors to take effect.

There are many myths that abound about this plant: that it thrives in the most decrepit of soils, requires hardly any water, is highly drought resistant and once planted, being a perennial, needs no further attention.

From my research and travel in all continents where this plant is seen, these descriptors hold good to the weed.

But that can hardly be extended to reflect ideal conditions of cultivation when jatropha is to be raised as a crop meant for commercial profit.

Fuelled by such crass misinformation, I have witnessed many a farmer in India, Africa and South East Asia scoop out soil from a foot deep pit, about the width of a fist, stuff a young seedling of jatropha in it, occasionally pour a mug of water and await a miracle to happen! Alas, their dream of reaping a bonanza from such misadventure has been unfailingly shattered.

The accompanying demonising the species has followed, equally unfailingly.

For the crop to succeed, several measures have to be taken. These include a detailed regime of soil testing, suitable amelioration and preparation of pits of appropriate dimension.

Nutritional needs

To cater to its nutritional needs basal doses of macronutrients, backfill with a studied mix of compost, soil and sand must be provided. Adequate watering in the non-rainy season, top-dressing with nutrients, canopy pruning, hormonal spray, apiary to promote pollination, inter-cropping during the initial years to foster sustainability are also essential. Research and development of high yielding variety with the desired fatty acid profile, crop agronomy and best combinations of intercropping must necessarily precede large-scale cultivation of jatropha.

Development of varieties that produce non-toxic de-oiled cake that can be fed to farm animals is critical to augment the revenue potential of this crop. Farming must be backed by prudent marketing mechanisms for the crop to succeed.

Presently, R & D in varietal development is in its infancy in all parts of the world. Any trash gets sold as seed for want of organised seed production agencies.

Small farmers cultivating fragmented land holdings less than a hectare of land hardly qualify to invest in this crop that entails a gestation of over three years before commercial yields materialise.

Urgent governmental intervention alone can help unlock the vast potential that jatropha holds. Stacked against the staggering statistic of 52.33 million metric tonnes of petro-diesel required in the country for the year 2006-07, a mere one per cent blend with jatropha-derived biodiesel would mandate a cultivation of the crop in 627,960 acres of land!

Given that it takes three years to produce an economic yield of 2,500 kg per acre it would ratchet a cumulative cost of Rs.628 crore for mere cultivation; no mean number that individual farmers can attempt.

Pragmatic alternatives

Therefore, it needs to be treated with the seriousness that it deserves and corporate entities equipped to handle large projects need necessarily be roped in with suitable incentives.

The cost of crushing the seed and its further refining to produce the one percent blend is yet another staggering number!

In the final analysis, other viable options as tapping into offshore resources and importing the finished products, whether bio-diesel or bio-ethanol, offer pragmatic alternatives that are economically viable too.

GURUMURTI NATARAJAN

greenthumb@vsnl.com

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