Economic and Social Sustainability Performance of Jatropha Projects: Results from Field Surveys in Mozambique, Tanzania and Mali

Abstract

This paper presents results from comprehensive field surveys of jatropha projects in Mozambique, Tanzania and Mali in 2012. The article singles out the salient economic and social impact results and derives lessons. The results clearly demonstrate the weak business case for jatropha biofuel production at this time. Plantations were found to be unviable because of insurmountable up-front capital requirements in combination with slow and unreliable crop maturation, inefficient oil pressing owing to a lack of scale and experience, inadequate utilization of by-products, and competitively-priced fossil diesel and palm oil. For smallholders, jatropha only has limited value as a hedge crop in environmentally and economically disadvantaged areas. Better prospects have to wait for the advent of improved jatropha varieties. Social impacts from the perspective of project managers were rather mixed: overall, food security perceptions were positive and no massive forced human displacements were noted so far, though some disputes over land access and compensation were reported. Labor legislation was apparently respected on plantations, and positive gender effects, regional income/employment effects and better public facilities were also reported. The projects generated considerable employment, albeit mostly of a temporary nature, as lack of economic viability had caused many projects to close down again. When introducing next-generation biofuel projects, better OPEN ACCESS Sustainability 2014, 6 6204 monitoring by various actor groups is recommended, as well as long-term investment plans that include integral exit strategies.

Jatropha cultivation in Malawi and Mozambique: impact on ecosystem services, local human well-being, and poverty alleviation

“…However, through its systems-oriented perspective (Díaz et al 2015), the ES approach can offer a more systematic overview of biofuel sustainability when compared to indicator-based assessments (Meyer et al 2015) that is currently missing from biofuel studies at the African context (Gasparatos et al 2015). In this respect our study offers a complementary (but not mutually exclusive) lens to understand biofuel impacts compared with other indicator-based studies in Africa (van Eijck et al 2014a, Romijn et al 2014.…”

“…The actual challenges faced by Jatropha projects (Romijn et al 2014) or the reasons behind their collapse (A. Ahmed, B. B. Campion, and A.…”

“…Jatropha curcas L (Jatropha) has been the feedstock that has gathered the greatest attention from governments, donors, and the private sector (Romijn et al 2014, Gasparatos et al 2015. Jatropha is a shrub/small tree that produces seeds with high oil content (> 30%; Henning 2009).…”

“…To date the only empirical syntheses/ comparative studies of the impact of Jatropha projects in southern Africa have either collated findings from empirical studies that were conducted at different times or used different methodologies (van Eijck et al 2014a, Romijn et al 2014). …”

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

“…El Piñón ha sido a menudo clasificado como ideal "pro pobres" ya que se adapta a los sistemas de producción de los pequeños productores de bioenergía (5). Consecuentemente, sustanciales inversiones públicas y privadas han sido transferidas para el cultivo del Piñón (6).…”