| | Jatropha
propagation poses as best alternative in Bohol farmlands, especially those sloping
by above 12 degrees and marginal soils where food crops hardly grow.
Of
the hundreds of thousand hectares of idle and barren lands in the province, the
provincial government's Jatropha Propagation Project targets to make at least
16,000 hectares productive, in partnership with PNOC Alternative Fuels Corporation
and Petrogreen Oil Commodity Holdings, Inc.
Governor
Erico Aumentado assured there will be no conversion of food farms to Jatropha
plantations, as he had already ordered segregation of agricultural lands for food
crops from those for industrial crops.
Moreover,
according to studies, "Jatropha curcas grows best on well drained soils preferably
with pH of 6-9 with good aeration but is well adapted to marginal soils with low
nutrient content" which food crops can hardly grow, though Petrogreen Managing
Director Poch Lamug said it can co-exist with food crops.
Aumentado's
chief of staff and project director of Bohol's Jatropha project, Antonieto Pernia,
explained that without encroaching lands planted with food crops, farmers' cooperatives
under the Bohol Poverty Reduction and Management Office (BPRMO) have enough areas
for the propagation of Jatropha.
"Jatropha
Curcas grows well with more than 600mm rainfall per year and it can withstand
long periods of drought. The plant sheds its leaves during a prolonged dry season,"
according to Thailand-based Jatropha Curcas Plantations.
| | | JCP
also explained that Jatropha curcas "prefers temperatures averaging 20-28
degrees Celsius (68-85 degrees Farenheit), and that "it can, however, withstand
a very light frost which causes it to lose all its leaves and may produce a sharp
decline in seed yield".
Citing
studies by experts, Lamug also described Jatropha Curcas as "a non edible
oil crop predominately used to produce bio-diesel".
Through
the trans-esterification process, crude Jatropha oil has been used as component
of high quality paper, energy pellets, soap, cosmetics, toothpaste, embalming
fluid, pipe joint cement, cough medicine and as a moistening agent in tobacco. |
Moreover,
Jatropha seed cake, a waste by-product of the bio-diesel trans-esterification
process has been used as rich organic fertilizer in other countries, Lamug further
cited.
Also
based on JCP research, about 600 liters of bio-diesel can be extracted from a
thousand kilos of Jatropha curcas seeds.
In
a hectare of land or 2.5 acres, partner-farmers of Bohol's Jatropha Propagation
Project plant 2,500 seedlings.
In
Jatropha, a grower can also maximize his pool of farm manpower as one person can
plant, manage and harvest 5-8 hectares of Jatropha curcas, based on the estimate
that a harvester can gather 30 kilograms of Jatropha fruits per hour.
Initially
focusing Bohol's produce for jet fuel market alone, Lamug said the project can
already mean a paradigm shift in the local agriculture sector as Jatropha farms
can produce seeds that have up to 60-percent oil content when managed properly.
Based
on experience in other countries, Jatropha starts yielding after 6 months and
can produce 6,000 kilos per hectare on the first year, 12,000 kilos on the second
year, 18,000 kilos on the third year, 20,000 kilos on the fourth year and 24,000
kilos on the fifth per hectare.
Its
economic life can span up to 50 years, though its actual lifespan can even reach
60 years. (AV/PGMA)
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