Productivity of Jatropha curcas under smallholder farm conditions in Kenya

Iiyama, Miyuki; Newman, David H.; Munster, Cristel; Nyabenge, Meshack; Sileshi, Gudeta W.; Moraa, Violet; Onchieku, J.; Mowo, Jeremias; Jamnadass, Ramni

doi:10.1007/s10457-012-9592-7

Cited by 41 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Before the hype, naturalized jatropha stands were found on farms with utility as a fence in parts of rural Africa. Yet, the hype drove farmers' high expectations on jatropha as a highly valuable commercial crop, not an energy crop, and farmers kept relying on firewood for own domestic fuel and on charcoal for income [11]. Some farmers decided to allocate prime agricultural plots to exclusively planting jatropha or intercropping, with a singular objective to maximize income which solely depended on yields of seeds [12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some farmers decided to allocate prime agricultural plots to exclusively planting jatropha or intercropping, with a singular objective to maximize income which solely depended on yields of seeds [12]. Once no realization of expected high returns became evident due to agronomy constraints along with the eventual absence of markets [12], farmers uprooted the stands which did give little scope for provision of other multiple benefits while occupying prime niches [11].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The development of "modern" biofuel crops for the industrial and transport sectors, which often involves controversial global debates over indirect land use changes [8,9], has not yet fully materialized in East Africa to date. The hype over bioenergy crops, such as Jatropha crucas around 2008, led to some "land grabbing" by foreign investors, yet most operations have been forced to close down by now due to marginal returns on marginal land [10,11]. In places where the crop was introduced to smallholder conditions, there were multitudes of logistical challenges, including the lack of quality domesticated germplasms and management protocols to achieve optimal yields with less inputs [12]; constraints on achieving economies of scale for mobilizing farmers, feedstocks, processing; marketing under African farming system conditions; and the eventual lack of demand and markets for the final biofuel product [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tree-Based Ecosystem Approaches (TBEAs) as Multi-Functional Land Management Strategies—Evidence from Rwanda

et al. 2018

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Densely populated rural areas in the East African Highlands have faced significant intensification challenges under extreme population pressure on their land and ecosystems. Sustainable agricultural intensification, in the context of increasing cropping intensities, is a prerequisite for deliberate land management strategies that deliver multiple ecosystem goods (food, energy, income sources, etc.) and services (especially improving soil conditions) on the same land, as well as system resilience, if adopted at scale. Tree based ecosystem approaches (TBEAs) are among such multi-functional land management strategies. Knowledge on the multi-functionality of TBEAs and on their scaling up, however, remains severely limited due to several methodological challenges. This study aims at offering an analytical perspective to view multi-functional TBEAs as an integral part of sustainable agricultural intensification. The study proposes a conceptual framework to guide the analysis of socio-economic data and applies it to cross-site analysis of TBEAs in extremely densely populated Rwanda. Heterogeneous TBEAs were identified across Rwanda's different agro-ecological zones to meet locally-specific smallholders' needs for a set of ecosystem goods and services on the same land. The sustained adoption of TBEAs would be guaranteed if farmers subjectively recognize their compatibility and synergy with sustainable intensification of existing farming systems, supported by favorable institutional conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tree-Based Ecosystem Approaches (TBEAs) as Multi-Functional Land Management Strategies—Evidence from Rwanda

et al. 2018

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“…Efforts were made to make the data collection methodology as rigorous as possible within the limitations imposed by the conditions discussed above, following guidelines in [21,22]. The interviews were held face-to-face on the project locations and on the outgrower sites in all instances (in contrast to some other recent jatropha surveys such as [23]) with the intent to try to ensure that the reliability of the answers could be verified against the physical attributes of the local context, and that respondents' answers could be probed when they did not make sense to the interviewers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2014

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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.

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“…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].…”

Section: The Emergence Of Disappointmentmentioning

confidence: 55%

Engineering the Jatropha Hype in Indonesia

Afiff

2014

Sustainability

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This paper explores the actors, social networks, and narratives at national and global levels that have been contributing to creating a hype about Jatropha as a biofuel crop in Indonesia. Widespread concerns about climate change and the 2005-2006 rise of world crude oil prices had created the important momentum for promoting Jatropha based biofuel around the world. What have been the drivers behind this hype and which narratives have been spread? The paper discusses the difference between hypes and boom-and-bust patterns, and argues that the latter is not applicable to Jatropha, because a market for Jatropha products has not been developed yet. In terms of the actors' contributions to this hype, the paper highlights the important role of engineers in mobilizing public support for Jatropha activities. Drawing on the results from interviews and secondary analysis, the paper reports how they have spread the news and claims through the Internet, creating public expectations about the potentials of the crop. Those narratives include one specifically Indonesian argument for supporting Jatropha cultivation appealing to the collective memory about Jatropha during the Japanese occupation period in Indonesia.

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Productivity of Jatropha curcas under smallholder farm conditions in Kenya

Cited by 41 publications

References 22 publications

Tree-Based Ecosystem Approaches (TBEAs) as Multi-Functional Land Management Strategies—Evidence from Rwanda

Tree-Based Ecosystem Approaches (TBEAs) as Multi-Functional Land Management Strategies—Evidence from Rwanda

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

Engineering the Jatropha Hype in Indonesia

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