Jatropha plantation woes

The Indian Planning Commission's approach draft for the 11th Five-
Year Plan has raised concerns regarding the environmental and
socioeconomic impacts of the ongoing jatropha plantations for
developing biodiesel in various parts of India. The report says
being a water-intensive crop, jatropha plantations could lead to a
drinking water shortage, and encroach on pastoral lands and animal
habitats. The report has come as a surprise since the commission was
the first to persuade the Centre, in April 2003, to take up large-
scale jatropha plantations under a national mission programme on
biodiesel, to achieve a country- wide 20 per cent blend in diesel by
2010. Jatropha plantations were initially planned for eight states
led by Chhattisgarh. The programme is yet to be launched officially
but most of these states have already taken up jatropha plantations
under it.
The national biodiesel programme got off to a wrong start with three
Indian ministries - the Union ministries of petroleum and natural
gas, rural development and environment and forests - and a number of
state governments becoming embroiled in the process. And the Union
ministry of agriculture was completely sidelined.
"The land-mafia and large corporations are using the jatropha-hype
created by the government to grab vast stretches of forest and
pastoral land," says Ashok Pradhan, a social worker based in
Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh government has promised
200,000 hectares (ha) to some of the country's largest private and
public sector companies like Reliance, Emami, Kitply, Indian Oil,
Indian Railways. The state aims to increase the land lease for
jatropha cultivation to 300,000 ha by 2007. According to media
reports, this mad rush for land has led to clashes in which at least
30 people lost their lives in Bilaspur, Raipur, Ambikapur and
Jagdalpur districts of Chhattisgarh that are considered the most
lucrative destinations for jatropha plantations. The victims are
mostly poor farmers of Chhattisgarh. They are fighting to protect
their land from the rich Haryana and Punjab farmers who are eyeing
the lucrative bio-diesel business. And with the state government
promising to lease a hectare of land at only Rs 100, there is no
saving grace. The mission had proposed an area of 11 million ha
under jatropha cultivation by 2012. For this purpose, 17.4 million
ha of wasteland were identified in the country.
But it's not that simple. Degraded forest lands in most states are
occupied by a number of forest dwellers and village folk. "It won't
be easy for the government to lease out land so easily since the
livelihood of people depends on it. Local politics has made the
situation worse in states like Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh," says Abhishek Maharishi, chief executive of the NGO Centre
for Jatropha Promotion. The rationale behind the jatropha plantation
programme has been questioned with the land required - 11 million
ha - being almost 7 per cent of the cultivable area in the country
including the wastelands. This area is more than the country's area
under cotton and half the area under wheat cultivation.
The aggressive push for jatropha cultivation is sidelining many
coarse cereals and other food crops that can grow in
wastelands. "The country is facing a massive shortage of edible oil.
We imported edible oil worth US $9 billion last year. Why can't we
grow hardy sources of edible oil, like groundnut, in those regions,"
says Sanjay Agarwal, an agricultural commodity trader based in New
Delhi. The mad rush for jatropha has been brought about by a rise in
crude oil prices that have increased by almost 300 per cent in the
last two years. With the European Union making bio-diesel blending
compulsory, new business interests have come up, says Maharishi.
India's wastelands have been compared with Malaysia and Indonesia's
plantations done on wastelands but it cannot be forgetten that India
has a large population dependent on this land for livelihood and
food.
Experts have questioned the mission's emphasis on jatropha
cultivation, even though other indigenous species like pongamia
(karanj) are also available. The justification: jatropha being a
perennial and sturdy shrub grew well on marginal land. It is drought
and disease resistant and its seeds contain about 30 per cent oil
that can be used for biodiesel production. It is estimated that six
years after initial sowing, each hectare of plantation will annually
yield seeds sufficient to produce 2.5 tonnes of biodiesel. Jatropha
is considered best for dry tracts facing acute scarcity of water.
But for commercial cultivation an average seed yield of 5 tonne/ha
is required that will need irrigation, pruning, fertilisation and
sufficient sun exposure. Jatropha cultivation requires a minimum
rainfall of 600 mm and also needs proper irrigation systems in dry
tracts where rainfall varies from 400 to 600 mm.
Experts explain that jatropha can withstand drought and can survive
for two or three years by shedding its leaves. "Jatropha does not
have deep roots and so requires a high water table. Thus, it draws
the soil moisture and competes with the other food crops," says
Maharishi. "While pongamia draws water at a depth of 10 metre and
does not use up all the water," he adds.
Pankaj Oudhia, an agriculture scientist, also agrees: "Jatropha
competes with other food and forest crops for land, water and
nutrients and affects the cropping system and agro-biodiversity."
But some argue against this.
The Nicaraguan example is often cited as an example for high yields
of jatropha. But Nicaragua has much higher rainfall (1,700 mm) than
the average precipitation in India (1,100 mm), which is unevenly
distributed. African countries are even undertaking a hydrological
investigation to determine the potential impact of jatropha
cultivation. "Jatropha does not fit into afforestation efforts,
which combine jatropha with other higher growing forestry tree
crops," says Oudhia. "Taller trees stunt the jatropha's growth," he
adds. With the government's promotion of jatropha, its production is
expected to increase through monoculture.
But scientists are apprehensive that large-scale jatropha
cultivation will harm biodiversity in the long run. "Monoculture
plantation has affected the local biodiversity. Mechanical tilling
destroys the existing vegetation and fauna," says Farida Tampal,
Andhra Pradesh state director for the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Mixed cultivation is a better choice, he adds. The question is: What
constitutes "marginal" and "wasteland" and who are the real
beneficiaries of the biodiesel produced, let alone the environmental
costs that have not been accounted for. A senior planning commission
official says despite some obvious benefits of jatropha-based
biodiesel, the unscientific and unethical route taken by Indian
states and industry has ruined the objective of the mission. If the
trend is not checked soon, the programme could result in a social,
economic and environmental fiasco for India. p
(CSE/Down to Earth Feature Service)
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