Indonesia counting on biofuel

Indonesia is seeking more investment in industries producing energy from palm oil, sugar cane and jatropha to help create five million new jobs and cut government fuel subsidies, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Wednesday.

The government will set aside 1 trillion rupiah, or $110 million, to help farmers pay interest on loans they take to plant more crops that can be used to produce biofuels, Yudhoyono said. Villagers will be encouraged to grow jatropha, a plant that thrives in poor soil whose seed can be crushed to yield oil for biofuel.
International Herald Tribune