UPLB: Start small when planting jatropha
Posted by: Isa Lorenzo | October 1, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Filed under: Environment Watch
FARMERS looking to try jatropha should start small, according to the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB).
More commonly known as tuba-tuba, jatropha is being eyed as a promising source of alternative fuel.
Farmers can plant at least 10 to 100 plants in their idle lots, not necessarily investing a fortune or buying seeds that cost P100 per kilogram. “It is projected that small farmers will have until 2009 to study how things are going without being left out when things do get better.”
These and other basic information on UPLB’s jatropha program appeared in a half-page advertisement in the Philippine Daily Inquirer yesterday after an article written by UPLB agriculture professors on jatropha and also published in the Inquirer had drawn mixed reactions. University Chancellor Rey Velasco said that the results of the study, which cautioned the public about jatropha, should not be taken as UPLB’s definitive position on the matter.
“UPLB’s position is to continue to vigorously pursue research and development on jatropha and biofuels and encourage relevant stakeholders to look beyond current limitations in search for solutions to current concerns — the essence of scientific research and development,” Velasco said.
View the UPLB advertisement.
He added that UPLB has put together a research and development program on biofuels, which was being implemented in cooperation with organizations such as the Philippine National Oil Company-Alternative Fuels Corporation (PNOC-AFC) and the Bureau of Agricultural Research of the Department of Agriculture.
Interested farmers may try growing local varieties of jatropha as long as they grow vigorously, bear fruit, have at least eight capsules per cluster, two to three seeds per capsule, bear at least three clusters per branch per fruiting season, and have at least 35 fruiting branches.
Jatropha starts to produce fruits as early as six months after sowing, but it will only reach optimum fruiting after five years. “Whatever campaigns and promotion we do, we trust that small holders are wise enough to test things on jatropha first before they commit their whole farm resources to something new,” Velasco said.
Poor farmers should be given opportunities to benefit from the use of biofuels by growing biofuel crops that generate additional income and employment, Velasco added. The promotion of biofuels, he however said, should not sacrifice food security and should not be harmful to the environment.
Jatropha is mainly targeted for planting in marginal areas, where food crops cannot be planted. The study published by UPLB professors, however, pointed out that jatropha grown in marginal lands would have a lower yield.
A UPLB team is also working on village-level processing of jatropha using a modified coconut oil expeller. Jatropha is also being explored as a fuel for stoves and small power generators in villages.
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