The Rise, Fall and Potential Resilience Benefits of Jatropha in Southern Africa

Abstract

Jatropha is the latest in a list of "miracle crops" that have been promoted in southern Africa for their perceived development benefits. This was based on promises of high yields, low water requirement, ability to grow on marginal land and lack of competition with food. In less than 10 years, tens of thousands of hectares were acquired for jatropha plantations and thousands of hectares were planted, most of which are now unused or abandoned. Overestimations of jatropha yields coupled with underestimations of the management costs have probably been the prime contributors to the collapse of most jatropha projects in southern African. However, a few projects still survive and show signs of possible long-term sustainability. We consider two such projects, a smallholder-based project in Malawi and a large-scale plantation in Mozambique. Though their long-term sustainability is not proven, both projects may increase resilience by diversifying household income streams and contributing to national fuel security. By identifying what seems to be working in these projects we provide insights as to why other projects may have failed in southern Africa and whether there is still place for jatropha in the region. In essence can jatropha still enhance local/national resilience or are jatropha's benefits just a myth? OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2014, 6 3616

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

“…Clearly Jatropha is unlikely to provide economic returns at the level that many investors had originally anticipated (Borman et al 2013, Gasparatos et al 2015, von Maltitz et al 2014, van Eijk 2014a. However, if yields continue to improve as trees mature, then Jatropha could provide a meaningful contribution to the overall income of BERL smallholders.…”

“…The drivers of biofuel expansion in sub-Saharan Africa are mainly associated with rural development and energy security, rather than climate change mitigation Stafford 2011, Gasparatos et al 2013a). This is particularly true for BERL/Niqel that do not aim to export biofuel to overseas markets, but to use it domestically (von Maltitz et al 2014, Table 3). Gasparatos et al 2012Gasparatos et al , 2015.…”

“…Eventually most Jatropha projects in Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia collapsed because of numerous interconnected reasons ranging from overoptimistic business plans, to low yields, time-lags in production, underestimated labor/maintenance/transport costs, lack of markets, changes in investor behavior following the 2008 financial crisis, lack of appropriate policy frameworks to regulate the biofuel sector, and institutional barriers posed by national governments (von Maltitz et al 2014, Gasparatos et al 2015. The actual challenges faced by Jatropha projects (Romijn et al 2014) or the reasons behind their collapse (A. Ahmed, B.…”

“…Biofuels have been promoted in southern Africa since the mid-2000s for national energy security, rural development, and economic gains from export (Mitchell 2010, Gasparatos et al 2013a, von Maltitz et al 2014. 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.…”

“…Gasparatos, unpublished manuscript) can vary between projects (and often act synergistically) because of the different national policies, companies, modes of production, and environmental/social contexts within which Jatropha projects operate. However, despite this boom-and-bust cycle, there are some Jatropha projects that are still operational in southern Africa (von Maltitz et al 2014). …”