Integrating mitigation and adaptation into development: the case of Jatropha curcas in sub-Saharan Africa

Editorial

Understanding the underlying mechanisms of recent Jatropha curcas L. adoption by smallholders in Kenya: A rural livelihood assessment in Bondo, Kibwezi, and Kwale districts

Between 2004 and 2007, NGOs, community based organisations and private investors promoted jatropha in Kenya with the aim of generating additional income and producing biofuel for rural development. By 2008 it became gradually evident that jatropha plantations (both mono- and intercropping) are uneconomical and risky due to competition for land and labour with food crops. Cultivation of jatropha hedges was found to have better chances of economic success and to present only little risks for the adopting farmers. Still, after 2008 a number of farmers went on adopting jatropha in plots rather than as hedges. It is hypothesised that lack of awareness about the low economic prospects of jatropha plantations was the main reason for continued adoption, and that smallholder farmers with higher resource endowments mainly ventured into its cultivation. In this study we provide an empirical basis for understanding the role of households' capital assets in taking up new livelihood strategies by smallholder farmers in three rural districts in Kenya. For that purpose, we assess the motivation and enabling factors that led to the adoption of jatropha as a new livelihood strategy, as well as the context in which promotion and adoption took place. A household survey was conducted in 2010, using a structured questionnaire, to collect information on household characteristics and capital asset endowment. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric statistical tests. We established that access to additional income and own energy supply were the main motivation for adoption of jatropha, and that financial capital assets do not necessarily have a positive influence on adoption as hypothesised. Further, we found that the main challenges that adopting farmers faced were lack of access to information on good management practices and lack of a reliable market. We conclude that continued adoption of on-farm jatropha after 2008 is a result of lacking awareness about the low economic value of this production type. We recommend abandoning on-farm production of jatropha until improved seed material and locally adapted agronomic knowledge about jatropha cultivation becomes available and its production becomes economically competitive.

Jatropha mahafalensis oil from Madagascar: properties and suitability as liquid biofuel

Access to affordable and renewable sources of energy is crucial to reducing poverty and enhancing rural development in countries of the global South. Straight vegetable oil was recently identified as a possible alternative to conventional biomass for rural energy supply. In this context, the Jatropha curcas Linn. species has been extensively investigated with regard to its potential as a biofuel feedstock. In contrast, only little is known about Jatropha mahafalensis Jum. & H. Perrier, which is an indigenous and endemic representative of the Jatropha genus in Madagascar. This paper explores the potential and suitability of J. mahafalensis as a biofuel feedstock. Seed samples were collected in the area of Soalara in south-western Madagascar in February and September 2011. Two agro-ecological zones (coastal area and calcareous plateau) and two plant age groups (below and above 10 years) were considered. These four sample groups were analyzed with regard to oil properties, element contents, and fatty acid profiles. Measured values differed greatly between the two harvests, probably owing to different climatic or storage conditions. No direct relation between age of trees or location and oil quality could be established. The analyses indicate that J. mahafalensis oil can be used in oil lamps, cooking stoves and stationary combustion engines for electrification or for biodiesel production. However, modifications in storage and extraction methods, as well as further processing steps are necessary to enable its utilization as a straight vegetable oil and feedstock for biodiesel production. If these technical requirements can be met, and if it turns out that J. mahafalensis oil is economically competitive in comparison with firewood, charcoal, paraffin and petroleum, it can be considered as a promising feedstock for rural energy supply.

Jatropha mahafalensis for rural energy supply in south-western Madagascar?

In many parts of the eastern African region wood-based fuels will remain dominant sources of energy in coming decades. Pressure on forests, especially in semi-arid areas will therefore continue increasing. In this context, the role of liquid biofuels as substitutes for firewood and charcoal, to help reducing pressure on woody biomass and contributing to a better energy security of rural communities, has remained controversial among researchers and practitioners. At household level, the economic and technical feasibility of straight vegetable oil (SVO) was assessed mainly on Jatropha curcas, with unpersuasive results. So far nothing is known about the suitability as an energy carrier of Jatropha mahafalensis Jum. & H. Perrier, the only endemic representative of the Jatropha genus in Madagascar. This paper explores the potential of this plant as a biofuel feedstock in the agro-pastoral area of Soalara, in the semi-arid south-western part of Madagascar. Only hedge-based production was considered to rule out competition over land with food crops. Yield data, the length of currently existing hedges and energy consumption patterns of households were used to assess the quantitative potential and economic viability of J. mahafalensis SVO for lighting and cooking. Tests were conducted with cooking and lighting devices to assess their technical suitability at household level. The paper concludes that J. mahafalensis hedges have some potential to replace paraffin for lighting (though without much economic benefit for the concerned households), but not to replace charcoal or firewood for cooking. The paper recommends that rural energy strategies in similar contexts do not focus only on substituting current fuels with SVO, but should also take into consideration other alternatives. In the case of cooking, there seems to be substantially more potential in increasing the efficiency of current fuel production and consumption technologies (kilns and stoves); and in the case of lighting, solutions based on SVO need to be compared against other options such as portable solar devices.