Jatropha is false solution to fossil fuel, ERA tells Delta State Govt

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has cautioned the Delta state government from going ahead with plans to promote jatropha cultivation across the state, warning that the move will engender hunger and not economic prosperity as touted by jatropha promoters.

Media reports last week indicated that the Delta state government promised to support Jatropha Growers, Processors and Exporters Association (JAGPEAN) in ensuring that jatropha is planted in every part of the state as part of a drive to grow its economy outside oil.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan who was represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Agriculture Ministry, Dr. Solomon Sadjere, made the promise at the Songhai Centre, Amukpe, Sapele Local Government Area of the state, where he met with jatropha growers and described the crop as one that will help the state reduce poverty.

But ERA/FoEN in a statement issued in Lagos warned that the conclusions of the Delta state government were based on either “misinformation or hyped assumptions”, urging it to learn from the examples of countries that have burnt their fingers in the jatropha hoax.

“While we appreciate the efforts of the Delta state government in exploring alternatives to fossil fuel which pollutes the environment, it must however be noted that Jatropha fuel is a false solution and not pro-poor,” said ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Godwin Ojo.

Ojo said that: “Investment in jatropha is a disaster for the environment and for the people the plantations displace. The Delta state government must avail itself a recent study by The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, ActionAid and Nature Kenya, titled Jatropha Biofuel Project: Emissions Up to Six Times Greater Than Fossil Fuels. The study showed that jatropha, promoted as a “wonder fuel,” must be grown under optimal conditions, usually requiring expensive inputs, without which yields and the result profits can be very low”

According to the ERA/FoEN boss, the study analysed whether biofuels made from jatropha grown at a proposed plantation in the Dakatcha Woodlands in Kenya would save emissions when compared to fossil fuels. The study found that jatropha would emit between 2.5 and 6 times more greenhouse gases, depending on how the land was used before the jatropha was planted.

He explained that, much of the biofuel produced in Dakatcha is destined for Europe because of new European Union (EU) targets under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) which requires 10 per cent of transport fuel to be from renewable sources by 2020. Ironically, most member states plan to meet this almost entirely through agrofuels plantations in Africa and elsewhere.

ActionAid, RSPB and Nature Kenya are calling for the proposed Dakatcha plantation to be scrapped as well as the scrapping of all subsidies and targets for biofuels in developed countries.

He added that evidence has shown that “Jatropha plantations take more water than most crops, vulnerable to common pests and diseases and are not pro-poor because they deprive local communities of their land, employment opportunities and food for consumption. Rather than expend money on expensive pesticides the state government should channel resources to other crops grown for consumption to fight hunger and food deficits in the state."

We demand that the Delta state government "reconsider this misadventure and go for environment-friendly options. Anything short of this is not tenable," Ojo insisted.