D1 Oils signs deal to expand jatropha planting for biofuel in Swaziland
Quicknote bioenergy business
The world's first genuine biofuels multinational, D1 Oils, which has activities in Africa and Asia, says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland for the planting of Jatropha curcas on 20,000 hectares of land. The nuts of the drought-tolerant jatropha shrub are an excellent feedstock for the production of biodiesel. Planting will take place in the Middleveld and Lowveld regions of the country and will begin this month. It is intended under the MOU to increase future planting operations to cover up to 50,000 hectares.
In addition, D1 has signed a further MOU with World Vision, a leading Swazi Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), to plant an additional 3,000 hectares with jatropha. Planting under both agreements will be carried out by contract farming. D1 will provide technical advice and seeds for planting and enter into offtake agreements with farmers to purchase the harvested seed. Planting is expected to be conducted over the next three years.
D1 has operated in Swaziland since 2005 and currently has around 400 hectares of jatropha planted in the Croydon and Hluti areas. D1 has a jatropha nursery in Hluti to produce seedlings required for planting. The company plans to establish its African Regional Development Centre (RDC) for research into the cultivation of jatropha in Hluti.
Elliott Mannis, Chief Executive Officer of D1 Oils plc, said, "These agreements demonstrate both our ability to expand our agronomy operations in Southern Africa and the depth of support we are receiving from the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland to build a sustainable jatropha-based biodiesel industry. We believe that rural communities in Swaziland stand to benefit significantly from the increase in rural employment that we are facilitating through the planting of jatropha as an energy crop. Our operations have already created over 200 jobs in communities that previously depended on subsistence farming and we expect planting to create thousands of jobs in the long term." [Entry ends here].
biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: Swaziland :: jatropha ::
The world's first genuine biofuels multinational, D1 Oils, which has activities in Africa and Asia, says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland for the planting of Jatropha curcas on 20,000 hectares of land. The nuts of the drought-tolerant jatropha shrub are an excellent feedstock for the production of biodiesel. Planting will take place in the Middleveld and Lowveld regions of the country and will begin this month. It is intended under the MOU to increase future planting operations to cover up to 50,000 hectares.
In addition, D1 has signed a further MOU with World Vision, a leading Swazi Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), to plant an additional 3,000 hectares with jatropha. Planting under both agreements will be carried out by contract farming. D1 will provide technical advice and seeds for planting and enter into offtake agreements with farmers to purchase the harvested seed. Planting is expected to be conducted over the next three years.
D1 has operated in Swaziland since 2005 and currently has around 400 hectares of jatropha planted in the Croydon and Hluti areas. D1 has a jatropha nursery in Hluti to produce seedlings required for planting. The company plans to establish its African Regional Development Centre (RDC) for research into the cultivation of jatropha in Hluti.
Elliott Mannis, Chief Executive Officer of D1 Oils plc, said, "These agreements demonstrate both our ability to expand our agronomy operations in Southern Africa and the depth of support we are receiving from the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland to build a sustainable jatropha-based biodiesel industry. We believe that rural communities in Swaziland stand to benefit significantly from the increase in rural employment that we are facilitating through the planting of jatropha as an energy crop. Our operations have already created over 200 jobs in communities that previously depended on subsistence farming and we expect planting to create thousands of jobs in the long term." [Entry ends here].
biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: Swaziland :: jatropha ::
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