Don't rush into biofuel

Learning from the jatropha mistake

The tropical shrub jatropha curcas, touted a decade ago as a commercially feasible source of biofuel to alleviate the global energy crisis, seems to have let its proponents down quite comprehensively. Millions of hectares of land in the arid areas of India and in many other Asian and African countries were turned into jatropha plantations in the expectation that the oil derived from its seeds would provide an alternative to diesel. However, this dream seems to have turned sour; evidence is growing that although the seeds are rich in bio-oil, the plant is neither as hardy and drought-tolerant as earlier presumed nor productive enough to be commercially viable without adequate water, fertiliser and careful management. India, apparently taken in by the global euphoria over the plant, had developed plans to turn about 13 million hectares of wasteland into jatropha plantations. Several financial incentives, including the free supply of jatropha seedlings, were offered. Globally, the lure of renewable fuels spurred many private companies into investing heavily in arid land, especially in Africa. Many of them are now being forced to consider alternative ways to redeem their investment.

The hype about the jatropha shrub was that it could grow on marginal land unfit for agriculture, that it needed very little water, and yielded abundant oil-bearing seeds. None of these assumptions has proved wholly true. Yes, the plant will grow even in harsh conditions; but its seed yield is not sufficient unless agronomic conditions are favourable. The experience of jatropha plantations in states like Assam, with good rainfall, as compared to those in relatively drier Jharkhand and Orissa, bears this out. A recent experiment by the Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) found that jatropha plantations in Andhra Pradesh succumbed to a disease called black rot in the summers of 2009 and 2010. And, as far as energy-yield efficiency goes, studies have indicated that jatropha requires nearly as much water per unit of energy as sugarcane or maize.

So, how did so many governments and companies buy into jatropha without conducting agronomic trials or undertaking pilot projects? India’s case is truly bizarre, given that a section of the agricultural scientists had cautioned the government in advance. The contrast with Bt brinjal, where the scientific community was overwhelmingly in favour of the plant but the government exercised unnecessary caution, is stark. There were more fundamental questions about jatropha’s suitability in India, too. A land-based renewable fuel production strategy does not really fit a country where land is not abundantly available. That sane counsel went unheeded. Since past mistakes cannot be undone, lessons must be learnt instead. India must wait and watch until reliable technology is generated and sturdy and high-yielding varieties or hybrids of this plant are made available. Even then, it will be far more prudent to fully ascertain jatropha’s economic viability through pilot projects in different agro-ecological zones before giving it a state-assisted push.