Kenya's jatropha initiative and the Millenium Development Goals

Kenya joins the flock of countries that are investing in Jatropha curcas as a crop for the production of biodiesel. It has introduced the plant in various parts of the country, with some 500,000 seedlings having been transplanted in Eastern, Rift Valley, Coast and Nyanza Provinces.

The government has licensed a Kenyan, farmer-driven environmental conservation organisation — Green Africa Foundation (GAF) — to provide technical support for the project. The GAF is collaborating with the Hiroshima University in Japan.

According to GAF, the economic implications of the project are in line with the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which are aimed at eradicating hunger and combating poverty, because the following benefits are associated with the Jatropha Curcas production system:

• Increasing soil fertility by use of press cake as fertilizer
• As per Millennium Development Goals (MDG) no.1 Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger, Jatropha will provide local jobs, lessening the need for Rural – Urban migration for employment opportunities. Millennium Development Goals (MDG) No. 7 Ensure Environmental Sustainability, Jatropha helps in Vegetation cover, increasing rainfall infiltration, resulting in less work / irrigation water needed for local gardens
• Reducing crop losses caused by wandering livestock or wind damage
• Increasing use of inexpensive local resources rather than expensive external resources
• Reducing disputes between farmers and livestock owners regarding crop damage, as well as among farmers themselves regarding the boundaries of their fields
• Jatropha production system lends itself to a variety of cropping systems which are adaptable to majority of farming communities such as intercropping with yams and undercover crops (pulses and grain legumes, sweet potato etc.) - thereby enhances food security.

The origin of today's interest in Jatropha takes us back to Mali, where in 1987, the German Technical Assistance (GTZ) started a renewable energy project with poor farmers. The production system was based on the cultivation of the plant that farmers used to grow to as hedges to protect their fields and gardens against grazing animals. Jatropha was also seen to reduce soil erosion, and since the shrub thrives well in harsh conditions (poor soils, low rainfall), it attracted considerable interest from the researchers. Jatropha nuts were already used locally to produce oil from which soap is made, and as a source of traditional medicine:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: jatropha :: biodiesel :: poverty alleviation :: rural development :: Kenya ::

The German project resulted in an energy production system that fits nicely into local rural conditions. The Malian project is still operational, and shows how the crop can be used to produce oil for cooking, lighting, running diesel engines for grain mills, water pumps and power saws.

Energy experts say that jatropha oil is an environmentally safe, cost-effective renewable source of non-conventional energy, and a promising substitute for diesel, kerosene and other fuels.

The plant is meanwhile become a commercial source of biodiesel feedstock production in several West-African (Senegal) and South- and South-East African (Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia) countries, as well as in Asia (Philippines, and especially in India, where state governments are actively promoting its introduction). Several major development institutions are now involved in studying and promoting the potential of jatropha in the developing world (earlier post).

Jatropha curcas is a perennial, monoecious shrub growing to about six metres high when mature and is pale brown in colour. Its leaves exude a watery latex that is slippery soapy to the touch, but turns brittle and brownish when dry. Being monoecious means that the plant’s flowers are uni-sexual and are not pollinated, but occasionally hermaphroditic flowers occur. The tree thrives under a wide range of climatic and edaphic conditions, but is particularly hardy at medium altitude and humid zones. It adapts to arid climatic conditions by shedding its leaves during the dry season. Its productive life span is estimated to reach 50 years without replanting or tending. The more oil produced by the jatropha plants the higher the food production, because its oil cake is turned into organic fertiliser, with a mineral composition comparable to guano or bird manure.

The plant produces yellowish ellipsoid capsule like seeds, measuring 2.5 to 3 centimetres long. The capsules contain two black triangular convex seeds per cell.

Kenya's initiative
According to the chairman and founder of Green Africa Foundation, Isaac Kalua, once a steady large-scale production is achieved, the farmer groups will start processing the fuel for commercial purposes. Mr Kalua said preliminary scientific tests show that one litre of clean purified fuel can be extracted from every two kilogrammes of jatropha seeds.

“The extracted oil burns without emitting smoke, thus being friendly to the environment,” he said, adding that there is a need to promote the crop among Kenyans to maximise its benefits, especially vulnerable groups.

Green Africa Foundation, the first farmer-driven organisation to embark on production of this fuel, is working closely with experts from the Hiroshima University in Japan to ensure that the simple manual oil squeezing machines are readily available to help poor farmers crush the jatropha seeds.

Prof K. Nakane, head of the centre for eco-biotechnology at the University of Hiroshima, said the advantage of bio-fuel is that the emission of carbon dioxide does not increase the amount of the gas in the atmosphere.

“The use of bio-diesel contributes greatly to the reduction and slowing of global warming,” said Prof Nakane.

Mr Kalua added, “With the cost of energy escalating beyond the reach of many poor Kenyans, we are going to redouble our efforts to ensure that attractive, clean fuel can be manufactured right on peoples’ homesteads.”

Kenya’s Environment Minister Prof Kivutha Kibwana, while on a tour of the jatropha farms in Eastern Province districts of Kitui and Makueni, said jatropha growing will play a big role in checking the encroaching desert and also assist in reforestation initiatives.

“Our rural energy deficiencies are going to be significantly alleviated through this initiative, besides other potential benefits of creating employment and income generating activities,” the minister said.

More information:
The Mali Folkecenter was the first to establish a jatropha based energy production system, in collaboration with the German Technical Assistance.

For an in-depth look into the system, see Reinhardt Henning's jatropha website. Henning, the pioneer behind the GTZ project, is now somewhat of a legend in the biofuel community.

The Green Africa Foundation's work on jatropha.

The East African: "The Wonder Shrub", Jan. 22, 2007.