Jatropha farming gains ground

Demand for biodiesel on the rise.

Jatropha cultivation has caught the fancy of farmers in Jharkhand, West Bengal and north-eastern states even as major companies stake out wastelands to cash in on the increasing demand for biofuels.

Manoj Bathwal, a district coordinator in Jharkhand for the jatropha programme of D1 Williamson Magor Bio Fuel, receives hundreds of applications daily from farmers who want to plant jatropha on their wastelands.

The company, a tie-up between D1 Oils, a British biodiesel company, and Williamson Magor, the country's leading tea producer, is facilitating jatropha cultivation through contract farming.

In less than 18 months, the company has succeeded in enrolling 70,000 farmers in jatropha cultivation.

"The company has completed plantation in about 8,100 hectares of land in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, north-eastern states and is looking to start planting in Orissa and Chhattisgarh," said Pradip Bhar, chief executive of the company.

It intends to invest Rs 1,030 crore in refining and logistics to process the crop from two lakh hectares that will be covered in a time span of 3-4 years.

"Once you plant jatropha, it will ensure a minimum income of Rs 13,000 per acre to the farmers from the third year, and this will continue for the next 50 years with minimum maintenance," said Bathwal.

More and more companies are looking to enter into jatropha plantation to produce biodiesel. The names include the likes of Emami Group, an FMCG company, LT Overseas, a basmati company, Reliance Industries, KS Oils, a leading edible oil company, etc.

"We have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Madhya Pradesh to plant jatropha on 20,000 hectares of wasteland," said V K Arora, managing director of LT Overseas. The company has also tied up with a European company for its biodiesel programme, and plans to enter into processing of jatropha in a couple of years.

K S Oils is also drawing plans to begin jatropha plantation. "We have applied to the MP government to allow us to grow jatropha on an area of about 50,000 hectares," said Sanjay Agarwal, managing director of the company.

"The advantage of jatropha plantation is manifold - it will produce a green and efficient fuel, minimise our dependence on fossil fuels, save our foreign exchange, generate employment and provide a green cover," said Sandeep Chaturvedi, president of the Biodiesel Association of India.

India has 35-40 million hectares of unused wasteland that can be used to grow "dollar" priced crops like jatropha and eucalyptus.

These are economical to raise on relatively degraded land and can generate income of Rs 40,000-45,000 crore while providing direct employment to 12-15 million people over the next five years, says a confederation of Indian industry (CII) report.