LATEST NEWS

Dutch and Brazilian companies to develop jatropha plantations

24th April, 2008

Brazil-based company Plant.a.Bio and the Netherlands-headquartered project developer and trading firm BioFuel Projects International (BFP International) have outlined their cooperation to develop and manage commercial scale jatropha plantations in Brazil.

BFP International and Plant.a.Bio aim to develop plantations in the interior of Brazil in less developed regions providing labour and chances for new farmers on grounds that were considered to be unusable.

BFP International is a project development company that aims to deliver sustainable and renewable raw materials for biofuel and bioenergy production and Plant.a.Bio manages and develops jatropha plantations and has vast knowledge of jatropha cultivation.

Jatropha oil, produced from seeds in jatropha fruit, is used as a substitute for rapeseed oil and soyabean oil being used for biodiesel production.

'It is imperative to produce enough jatropha oil to be able to replace these edible oils and that the cultivation of jatropha is done on acreage that is not suitable for food production,' Marc de Boer, director of BFP International, says. The companies will look at areas that are currently unsuitable for any other crop north of Minas Gerais in Brazil.

An initial acreage of 5,000 hectares will be developed as a pilot plantation to demonstrate the economic viability of jatropha on poor soils and to validate its sustainability as an energy crop.