India pins biofuel hope on jatropha, output to rise

India is forecast to produce 2 million tonnes of biodiesel by 2012 as it aggressively plants wild jatropha oilseed to meet growing hunger for energy, a senior industry official said on Thursday.

The nation has identified 64 million hectares of wasteland that can be planted with jatropha, a non-edible oilseed which grows even on arid land in most warm climates and needs little care.
“India has 64 million hectares of wasteland and we asked the government to just provide 20 percent of the wasteland for planting jatropha,” said Rajiv Gulati, vice president of Biodiesel Association of India.

In anticipation of the rapidly evolving biofuels market, dozens of private firms are contracting villagers to grow the hardy, oil-rich plant in their mostly barren plots of land. But now several corporates, farmer groups and cooperatives were taking the plunge as states were allocating wasteland for oilseed cultivation, Gulati said.

India plans to replace around five percent of its current 40 million tonnes of annual diesel consumption with jatropha biodiesel within about five years.

Jatropha is seen as a good bet for India if it wants to cut back on oil imports that account for 70 percent of its needs.

Gulati said India has planted jatropha on some 2 million hectares in the last three years but oil production will only start by 2012.

“Two million hectares planted, but you will not see a single kilogram of seeds today,” he said on the sidelines of an industry meeting in the Malaysian capital.

“The seeds are harvested and used for planting more trees, we have vast area that needs to be covered.”

Reuters