Thanks. I am visiting border region for documentation of Traditional
medicinal knowledge about Medicinal Rice. Please see this Knol on
Medicinal Rice Tenduphool.

http://knol.google.com/k/pankaj-oudhia/medicinal-rice-tenduphool/3nerdtj3s9l79/3\
#


Next week my plan is to make surprise visit in Nuapada region. Please
forward the addresses of organizations. Please keep the visit low
profile so that I can see the ground realities.


regards

Pankaj Oudhia



--- In jatropha@..., "Tushar Dash" <tushardash01@...> wrote:
>
> Pankaj ji,
>
> I know some of the organizations who have opposed the district
> administration's promotion of Jatropha in the Nuapada area. If you
want any
> contact which might help you in your visit then kindly let me know.
I would
> also like to request you to kindly take up this matter with the district
> administration during your next visit if possible.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tushar
>
>
> On 10/17/08, Pankaj Oudhia <pankajoudhia@...> wrote:
> >
> >   Thanks Tushar for this valuable information. Few months back I
was in
> > Patora region of Nuapada district where Famous Jogeshwar temple is
> > situated.
> >
> > http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1356&res=640
> >
> > http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1330&res=640
> >
> > I have seen scene of Jatropha promotion by the authorities. I
> > interacted with natives. Many cases of Jatropha poisoning happened in
> > border region. As result now many natives have started uprooting
> > Jatropha. Senior natives are already aware of its harmful effects. In
> > border I visited to Kansinghi village where Gond woman destroyed
> > Jatropha and now educating others to uproot it. I have posted the
> > pictures of Kansinghi in previous mail.
> >
> > http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO3023&res=640
> >
> > Next week I am visiting the area again.
> >
> > regards
> >
> > Pankaj Oudhia
> >
> > --- In jatropha@... <jatropha%40yahoogroups.co.in>,
"Tushar
> > Dash" <tushardash01@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear Pankaj ji,
> > >
> > > Thanks a lot for your informative updates on Jatropha. Recently i
> > got this
> > > news from organizations working in Nuapada district (which is
bordering
> > > Chhatishgarh) that Jatropha is promoted in a big way in many parts
> > of the
> > > district and that the district administration, mainly the DRDA is
> > actively
> > > supporting a promotion campaign by a private company. The entire
belt
> > > (Bolangir, Nuapada) is now threatened.
> > >
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Tushar
> > > Vasundhara
> > >
> > >
> > > On 10/16/08, Pankaj Oudhia <pankajoudhia@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Dear Group Members,
> > > >
> > > > List of online Hindi articles on poisonous Jatropha. Visit to link
> > > > and read it as pdf.
> > > >
> > > > Who will buy Ratanjot?
> > > >
> > > > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557008
> > > >
> > > > Recommended for wasteland why Jatropha is under planting in
fertile
> > > > crop fields?
> > > >
> > > > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557108
> > > >
> > > > Why there is blind race for foreign plant Jatropha?
> > > >
> > > > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557411
> > > >
> > > > Jatropha promoters know very less about this foreign plant.
> > > >
> > > > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557412
> > > >
> > > > Why indigenous Karanj is better than exotic Jatropha?
> > > >
> > > > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557413
> > > >
> > > > Karanj vs. Jatropha : Indigenous vs. Exotic
> > > >
> > > > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557422
> > > >
> > > > Harmful effects of Jatropha and its large scale plantation are now
> > > > coming on surface.
> > > >
> > > > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557681
> > > >
> > > > These Hindi articles have been published in over 18 farm magazines
> > so far.
> > > >
> > > > Pankaj Oudhia
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>

Thanks Tushar for this valuable information. Few months back I was in
Patora region of Nuapada district where Famous Jogeshwar temple is
situated.

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1356&res=640

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1330&res=640


I have seen scene of Jatropha promotion by the authorities. I
interacted with natives. Many cases of Jatropha poisoning happened in
border region. As result now many natives have started uprooting
Jatropha. Senior natives are already aware of its harmful effects. In
border I visited to Kansinghi village where Gond woman destroyed
Jatropha and now educating others to uproot it. I have posted the
pictures of Kansinghi in previous mail.

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO3023&res=640

Next week I am visiting the area again.

regards

Pankaj Oudhia

--- In jatropha@..., "Tushar Dash" <tushardash01@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Pankaj ji,
>
> Thanks a lot for your informative updates on Jatropha. Recently i
got this
> news from organizations working in Nuapada district (which is bordering
> Chhatishgarh) that Jatropha is promoted in a big way in many parts
of the
> district and that the district administration, mainly the DRDA is
actively
> supporting a promotion campaign by a private company. The entire belt
> (Bolangir, Nuapada) is now threatened.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Tushar
> Vasundhara
>
>
> On 10/16/08, Pankaj Oudhia <pankajoudhia@...> wrote:
> >
> >   Dear Group Members,
> >
> > List of online Hindi articles on poisonous Jatropha. Visit to link
> > and read it as pdf.
> >
> > Who will buy Ratanjot?
> >
> > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557008
> >
> > Recommended for wasteland why Jatropha is under planting in fertile
> > crop fields?
> >
> > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557108
> >
> > Why there is blind race for foreign plant Jatropha?
> >
> > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557411
> >
> > Jatropha promoters know very less about this foreign plant.
> >
> > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557412
> >
> > Why indigenous Karanj is better than exotic Jatropha?
> >
> > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557413
> >
> > Karanj vs. Jatropha : Indigenous vs. Exotic
> >
> > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557422
> >
> > Harmful effects of Jatropha and its large scale plantation are now
> > coming on surface.
> >
> > http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557681
> >
> > These Hindi articles have been published in over 18 farm magazines
so far.
> >
> > Pankaj Oudhia
> >
> >
> >
>

Dear Group Members,

     List of online Hindi articles on poisonous Jatropha. Visit to link
and read it as pdf.

Who will buy Ratanjot?

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557008

Recommended for wasteland why Jatropha is under planting in fertile
crop fields?

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557108

Why there is blind race for foreign plant Jatropha?

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557411

Jatropha promoters know very less about this foreign plant.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557412

Why indigenous Karanj is better than exotic Jatropha?

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557413

Karanj vs. Jatropha : Indigenous vs. Exotic

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557422

Harmful effects of Jatropha and its large scale plantation are now
coming on surface.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557681


These Hindi articles have been published in over 18 farm magazines so far.


Pankaj Oudhia

Dear Group Members,

    These research articles have been updated recently.


Bare facts about poisonous Jatropha curcas.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=877&page=-2


Celebrate Deepawali this year with Karanj oil lamps.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=1595&page=-2


Jatropha fever.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=879&page=-2


Keep your water sources pure through traditional knowledge about herbs.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=952&page=-2

Let’s come forward to save wildlife from poisonous Jatropha.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=3099&page=-2

New observations related to Jatropha failure in India.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=3097&page=-2

Now Jatropha is showing its (bad) colors in India.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=3078&page=-2

One day in Barnawapara wildlife sanctuary region with new experiences
and observations.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=3102&page=-2

Planning of FEW, Problems for generations

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=843&page=-2

Status of Jatropha curcas in year 2022 in India.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=3082&page=-2

That is why common people oppose Jatropha plantation.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=1868&page=-2

Thats why your Biodiesel Tree is not performing well.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=3118&page=-2

Visit to plantations and see Jatropha failure by your own eyes.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=3081&page=-2

Who will protect our children from Jatropha poisoning?

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=847&page=-2

Why Karanj is better than Jatropha?

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleView&earticleId=845&page=-2


Pankaj Oudhia

Hi,

This mail is just to inform you that I have left People's coalition on
Biofuel for personal reasons. I informed about it to Satheeshji many
days back
but it was not circulated to members. That is why I am writing to you
directly. Expecting that Satheeshjee as well as Shalini will remove my
name
from letterhead and other correspondences.

We will remain in touch through 'Say No to Jatropha' yahoo group.


regards

Pankaj Oudhia

Dear Friends,

Greetings from a rainy pune!1

i am writing to all with a small request, As you all know that the
National Biofuel Policy has been announced and passed by the cabinet.
till date the text of the doc is not available with any of us on this
listserve. Shalini is trying to get the text. My request is we should
draft a letter to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, with a
copy to PMO, Ms. Sonia Gandhi etc reg this. I am pasting below a mail
in italics sent by shalini in which she flags some key aspects of the
policy based on the press release of the GOI,

No progress on copy of the text today, we keep at it this week; else I
see no harm in the Coalition already sending out a missive reiterating
the lack of transparency, while demanding once again for a disclosure
even including the Coalition's reactions to what WAS made public in
the GOI release which gives the salient features of the approved
policy, flagging from amongst the dozen points:

   * Bio-diesel plantations on community / Government / forest waste
     lands would be encouraged
   * Sub-Committee under the Steering Committee would be led by the
     Department of Biotechnology
   * Major thrust to be given to Research, Development & Demonstration
     with focus on plantations, processing and production technologies
     including second generation cellulosic biofuels

FYI, /Biofuel To Fire
Biofuel development is ignoring critical socio-economic concerns/
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main40.asp?filename=Op200908change.asp

Shalini

The request is some one with considerable experience, information and
hands on work in the arena of Biofuel, like Viren, Debu or Pankaj or
anyone else could initiate a draft of the letter onto which the other
group members could add on and then the consolidated letter could be
sent to the people concerned.

awaiting your kind response in this regard.

warmly............krishna
--
krishna
PiA, Econet
2 and 3 Silver Homes
Opp. Sagar Bungalows,
Fatimanagar
Pune - 411 013
Phone - (020) 26820820, 32907154
email - pia.econet@... , econetpune@...

Jatropha planted in home garden by authorities. (August 16, 2008)

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1235&res=640

Ripusudan consumed its seeds.

(Ripusudan with his father Budhram)

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1233&res=640


Finally She decided to destroy poisonous Jatropha (September 29, 2008)

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO3023&res=640


[Recent cases of Jatropha poisoning

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=interactiveTableView&itableId=71007]



Pankaj Oudhia

Dear Group Members,

    Few years back Dr. Kalam visited to Sunderkera Jatropha plantation
and declared Jatropha as boon for India.

I am visiting this plantation almost every month. Month by month its
condition is deteriorating. This Monday I found shocking scene. Please
see these pictures

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO3096&res=640

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO3088&res=640

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO3098&res=640


Jatropha Plants died in large number due to insects, diseases, poor
growth, cattle etc. Authorities have collected dead plants and now
trying to replant new plants in this barren land. This plantation is
under promotion as model plantation around the world. Its worst
condition clearly shows the bad performance of Jatropha.

Few months back

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1600&res=640

Now

http://pick5.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?see=I_PAO3130&res=640

The private companies who harvested the real benefit by selling
planting material and techniques are waiting for election. After it
they will start new show with new government.

Through this group I would like to invite Dr. Kalam to visit again and
see the ground level realities before promoting poisonous Jatropha.


regards

Pankaj Oudhia

Aviation issue stirs up anger

Sep 26 2008 Evening Gazette

BRITAIN has infuriated its European partners by lobbying for aviation
to be removed from renewable energy targets, it emerged today.

But Christine Ourmieres, Air France KLM general manager said the
carrier remained committed to converting its fleet to biofuels as soon
as the technology became available.

On a visit to Durham Tees Valley Airport yesterday she announced the
airline had signed a charter with nine others to speed up conversion
with initial biofuel research focused on jatropha curcas and seaweed .

http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/business-news/latest-business-news/2008/09/26/aviati\
on-issue-stirs-up-anger-51140-21907167/

Rachelle; Mar’s challenges

By Job Tabada
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 13:18:00 09/26/2008

Somewhere in this area is a huge jatropha (tuba-tuba) plantation. Rice
farmers have reportedly been showing their indignation over the
destruction of rice farms and their displacement from the place, which
is now planted to tuba-tuba. Landowners have been lured by the
government’s biofuel program, which seeks to lessen the country’s
dependence on fossil fuel. Worldwide, experts see the biofuel program
as a “miscalculation” that negatively affects food production.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view/20080926-163079/Rach\
elle-Mars-challenges

For this Hindi Article by Umashankar Mishra, please visit

http://ujjas.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-post_13.html

India sets new biofuel target, risks food price row

http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=62083&cid=4

As Jatropha plantation is in full swing pasture lands, once used by
cattle, are shrinking. Please see the pictures taken in Indian state
Chhattisgarh. Earlier this land was pasture land but now due to
Jatropha plantation cattle are searching grasses in plantation. In
general, Jatropha is considered as good fence crop but it is clear
from pictures that now it is no more effective. In this particular
plantation caretakers asked me some effective live fence to protect
Jatropha from cattle.

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1960&res=640

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1964&res=640


Pankaj Oudhia

Forest dept launches initiative to conserve sacred groves

4 Sep 2008, 0548 hrs IST, Rachna Singh,TNN

The Jatropha cultivation is severely limiting the ability of the
commons to support rural livelihood comprehensively and thereby
harming the ecological services they render," said Aman Singh of
Kripavis, an NGO that work for protection of sacred groves.

Livestock is the major source of livelihood for the poor and they are
heavily dependent on common pastures for grazing their cattle.
Jatropha cultivation will severely affect the availability of fodder,
feels Aman.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Jaipur/Forest_dept_launches_initiative_to_con\
serve_sacred_groves_/articleshow/3442521.cms

Thanks for your interest. I am preparing scientific report on this
disease. In this report you will find answers of all your questions.

Please share more information about your campaign against poisonous
Jatropha.


Pankaj Oudhia

--- In jatropha@..., shona hawkes <shonahawkes@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Pankaj Oudhia,
> Thank-you so much for sending this through. We have been preparing
to fight what is said to be South-East Asia's biggest jatropha
processing plant in Timor-Leste.
>
> I was wondering if you could let me know any more about the disease.
>
> Some of the questions I have are below - but any information would
be great.
>
> - Can you describe the disease and what happens to the plant?
>
> - Does the disease have a name?
>
> - Did people know about the disease prior to planting jatropha
curcus or has this just emerged as an issue with large-scale plantings?
>
> - Can the virus be treated? If so how? and how much? If not how are
people responding?
>
>
> - How much is the estimated cost?
>
> - What is the estimated loss? How many livelihoods are likely to
affected?
>
> Thank-you so much for any help you can provide.
>
> A luta continua
>
> Shona
> www.laohamutuk.org
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Pankaj Oudhia <pankajoudhia@...>
> To: jatropha@...
> Sent: Tuesday, 26 August, 2008 5:08:09 AM
> Subject: [jatropha] A picture is worth a thousand words-II
>
>
> Attack of viral disease in Jatropha in Indian state Chhattisgarh.
>
> http://www.discover life.org/ mp/20p?see= I_PAO1776& res=640
>
> Pankaj Oudhia
>
>
>
>
>       Win a MacBook Air or iPod touch with Yahoo!7.
http://au.docs.yahoo.com/homepageset
>

Thats why Jatropha plantations failed in Indian state Chhattisgarh.
Diseases are common.

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1597&res=640


Pankaj Oudhia

Insects are enjoying on Jatropha and damaging this so-called pest
resistant plant. Termite infestation is killing Jatropha in large
numbers in Indian state Chhattisgarh.

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1567&res=640

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1577&res=640


Pankaj Oudhia

Farmers are even burning Jatropha in Indian state Chhattisgarh. Every
one is aware that large scale plantation is curse except our
politicians and planners.

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?act=zoom&img=/home/IM/I_PAO/0016/640/Jatropha\
_curcas,I_PAO1617.jpg?361,245


Pankaj Oudhia

Farmers are uprooting and destroying Jatropha considering it as weed
i.e. unwanted plant.

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1628&res=640

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1622&res=640



Pankaj Oudhia

Attack of viral disease in Jatropha in Indian state Chhattisgarh.


http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1776&res=640


Pankaj Oudhia

Jatropha in Indian state Chhattisgarh.

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_PAO1887&res=640


Pankaj Oudhia

Zimbabwe: Tread on Biofuels Cautiously

	 The Herald (Harare)
Published by the government of Zimbabwe


The Herald (Harare)

OPINION
4 August 2008
Posted to the web 4 August 2008

Sifelani Tsiko
Harare

WHILE there is a drive by Zimbabwe and most other African countries to
develop biofuels as a response to both climate change and the rising
petroleum fuel import bill, agronomists and environmentalists say this
must be done cautiously so as not to threaten food security and
sovereignty.

Development experts who met recently at a one-day seminar in Harare to
discuss food aid and food security called on Zimbabwe and other
African countries to grow more crops for food than for biofuels, given
the growing threat of food riots worldwide as the poor protests
against rising food prices.

"Structural adjustment policies imposed by Bretton Woods institutions
removed governments from food production and this is a major cause of
loss of food sovereignty," said Professor Carol Thompson, a visiting
political economist from the Northern Arizona University in the United
States.

"Market policies have failed the poor. Food prices are rising, they
are more hungry people. The Doha Round failed recently over
contentious agricultural issues because the US and the European Union
failed to remove subsidies for their own farmers."

She said Zimbabwe and most other African countries were enthusiastic
about biofuels programmes but warned that this flurry of initiatives
would lead to food shortages and more food riots as large
foreign-dominated multinationals focus more on agro-fuels production
at the expense of food for the poor.

"People are beginning to compete with cars. There is a rapid rise in
crop production for fuel. Large conglomerates are integrating
vertically from the fields to the fuel tanks and not much to the
dinner plate," she said.

"In the US, only four corporates decide what you will eat and not the
US government anymore. There is a big danger that Zimbabwe and Africa
might lose food sovereignty if multinationals are allowed to come in
and exploit food crops for biofuels.

"Maize is a staple for people here and once it's commodified for
agro-fuels production, the community identity and sustenance will be
lost."

According to a 2008 World Food Programme report, there were food riots
in 70 countries worldwide while 100 million more people were hungry.

The United Nations estimates that one billion people suffer from
hunger and poverty, about 12 percent of all humanity.

GRAIN, a non-profit organisation which promotes the sustainable
management and use of agricultural bio-diversity, reports that 70
percent of developing countries are net food importers as of today.

There is a large-scale planting of agro-fuel crops, particularly
jatropha, in most countries in Southern Africa as governments join in
the growing movement towards alternative fuels.

Large multinationals are moving in, taking over resources used by
rural communities for their own survival.

Agronomists and environmentalists who met at the seminar, organised by
the Community Technology Development Trust, said local people in most
parts of Southern Africa would find it harder to satisfy their food
and fuel needs.

"It is the rural poor who will bear the cost of the agro-fuel boom
while reaping few of the benefits," said Mr Andrew Mushita, an
agronomist and director of CTDT.

"The shortage of fuel has also been a challenge within the region and
this has led to Sadc countries putting large areas of land under
plants which will be processed to produce fuel.

"This has greatly affected agriculture and also food security of the
region."

In the region, the Democratic Republic of Congo committed 3 million
hectares of land for agro-fuels production, Mozambique 3,5 million
hectares, South Africa 700 000 hectares, Tanzania 400 000 hectares and
Zambia 500 000 hectares, according to media reports.

Agronomists and environmentalists expressed concern that these huge
tracts of land were being mostly used to produce agro-fuels by
multinationals for foreign consumption by rich countries in the North.

"These industrial conglomerates see Africa as a 'Green Opec' for the
world. The amount of grain required to fill the 90-litre tank of a 4X4
once with ethanol will feed one person for a year," Prof Thompson said.

"Jatropha will take good soils from food crops. Is it right to make
land available for agro-fuels production in a food deficit region?
There is need to tackle agro-fuels in the context of our land policies."

She said Africa should be concerned that Nigeria, Africa's third
largest oil producer (and the world's 10th largest) imports 70 percent
of oil for domestic consumption.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200808040577.html

- Jatropha is toxic to livestock, weedy, and not a good species to use
in agroforestry systems except as living fences to protect food crops
from livestock; and Jatropha wood is of little value for fuelwood and
charcoal.  Closely spaced, Jatropha would eliminate grasses and shrubs
on which livestock feed; livestock that are especially important for
women and children, for they are either eaten or sold to purchase
nutritious food to supplement their meager diets.

-Most often, marginal lands lack either adequate nutrients or moisture
or both; that’s why they are marginal, and as the old saying goes,
“There is no free lunch.”  Trees, as do other plants, mine nutrients
from the soil, and for optimal and sustained production, these
nutrients must be replenished.  Although Jatropha may look promising
as a tree/shrub for marginal lands, without added nutrients, moisture
and improved germplasm, marginal yields can be expected.

-Projects based on a single source of oil, such as that from Jatropha,
which produces an unsure yield of nuts only during a short period of
time (once or twice a year) and may not produce optimal yields for
several years, may prove to be problematic and unsustainable.

-To optimize oil extraction from Jatropha seeds and to produce a
quality of oil that will maximize profits (e.g., a diesel oil
substitute) requires: equipment, some quite expensive; chemicals, such
as methanol and caustic soda, that are highly flammable, toxic and
dangerous to use and are somewhat costly and not readily available

- Some of the biggest advocates for Jatropha are those who are selling
seeds (of unknown genetic potential), who stand to make the profits in
the near term.  Often, in many calculations of projected
profitability, one or more of the costs of establishment, harvesting,
transport, processing and marketability may not be included, while the
over-valued speculation of selling carbon credits is; therefore, a
somewhat distorted view of bottom-line economics is presented.

-Although many researchers have described Jatropha as a potential
domestic fuel for cooking and lighting, with properties similar to
kerosene, it cannot be used directly in conventional kerosene stoves
or lamps. High ignition temperatures and viscosity (75.7 10-6 m2/s) as
compared to kerosene (50-55 C, and 2.2 10-6m2/s respectively) mean
that Jatropha oil will not burn as well, and would clog up all the
tubes and nozzles in a conventional stove or lamp.

-Unrefined Jatropha oil can only be used in certain types of diesel
engines, such as Lister-type engines; but even then they require
modifications, and are high-maintenance.  The Lister type engine is
commonly used in developing countries to run small-scale flourmills or
electric generators. These engines also have to be located in warm
climates because the viscosity of Jatropha oil is too high at low
temperatures. However, any diesel engine, with no modification other
than the replacing of natural rubber with synthetic rubber hoses
(which late model engines do not have anyway), can run on Jatropha
fuel once the oil has gone through a process called trans-esterification.

-According to Marc Portnoff, senior scientist at the Carnegie Mellon
Center for Advanced Fuel Technology, Jatropha oil does not store well
without processing, perhaps for only a few months; therefore, this
would make it difficult to provide fuel to power the year-around
operation of small industries such as grain mills, oil presses, water
pumps and electricity generators

-Jatropha has the potential to be weedy because of its toxic seeds
that can spread rather easily and create dense stands on uncultivated
lands.  It is reported as a weed in many places including Australia,
Brazil, Fiji, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico, and
Salvador.

-In the IPGRI paper, several scientists are quoted on stating that
Jatropha curcas can transmit cassava superlongation disease
(Sphaceloma manihoticola/Elsinoe Brasilinesis); and another species,
J. multifida, is an alternate host plant for African Cassava Mosaic
Virus, which is transmitted by whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci), and it can
be assumed that this also applies to Jatropha curcas.

For full report please visit

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