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Opportunities and
challenges for the international trade of Jatropha curcas-derived
biofuel from developing countries
Nurdine Abdul Cadre Salé* and Homero Dewes
Centre of
Studies and Research in Agribusiness (CEPAN), and of
Biophysics Department of Biosciences Institute of Federal
University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS),
Porto Alegre- RS – Brasil – CEP 90010-460.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
nurdine.agribusiness@rocketmail.com. Tel: +258 – 21
307957/21 300626, 82 643 6231.
Accepted 7
January, 2009 |
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The interest on non-food energy crops is increasing, and
among these Jatropha curcas has been highlighted as a
possible source of biodiesel due to its characteristics of
growing on barren, eroded lands under harsh climatic
conditions, demanding low moisture and in resulting
productive harvests. In face of the promising international
biofuel market, several African and Asian countries are
seizing biodiesel trade opportunities through exploitation
of the benefits of large-scale production and trade of
Jatropha though little is known about the agronomics of this
crop for biofuel production. Thus, the study aimed at
analyzing the challenges and opportunities of large-scale
Jatropha cultivation in developing countries for biodiesel
export. The Strategic Niche Management framework was applied
to analyze socio-technological experiments of Jatropha
cultivation in India, as a case-study because this country
is currently the world leader in cultivating Jatropha on
industrial scale and it has similar edapho-climatic
conditions and cultural characteristics with some African
countries. Therefore, before engaging into large-scale
cultivation of Jatropha in developing countries considerable
experiments ought to be made with the participation of all
stakeholders. Furthermore, for developed markets access
biofuel-producing countries would require certification
systems which take into account certain specific
environmental, social, and agricultural production
practices.
Key
words:
Jatropha cultivation, strategic niche management, biofuel
trade, India, Africa. |
