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Jatropha: Hidden value brings hope
The Herald, 29 December 2005
By Nelson Chenga
FACED by a critical shortage of poles to fence off the family homestead, the Nyamatanga family from Mutoko obtained from a neighbour’’s hedge twigs of a succulent plant popularly known in the area as Jirimono.
For decades, Mutoko communal farmers have been planting this Jirimono as a hedge following massive deforestation but none of them knew that the hedges would one day be part of a solution to the country’’s diesel supply problems.
Jirimono is actually the locally-coined generic term for Jatropha curcas —— a drought-resistant succulent plant whose origins can be roughly traced to South America but is now found across the globe.
According to villagers, Jirimono specifically refers to the Jatropha curcas fruit whose seeds have been collected by other enterprising neighbours to make soap.
"We planted the hedge last year to protect our fields from cattle intrusion as well as for security purposes.
"People never thought that diesel can be produced from the seeds which always fall to the ground every year because no one has ever bothered to collect the seed pods," said Mrs Ida Nyamatanga from Frank Village about 30km north-east of Mutoko Centre.
"But from now on, even if someone just wants the twigs we will be selling to them," she added smiling.
After initially planting along just about 200 metres of the homestead’’s perimetre, the Nyamatanga family now plans to extend the hedge further as the Zimbabwe Government earnestly drives for the plant to meet about 10 percent of the country’’s diesel fuel supplies.
The Government has already specified Jatropha and banned its export as it seeks to extensively develop it within the next five years.
Through various stakeholders that include Forestry Commission, the Industrial Development Corporation, the Scientific and Industrial Research Development and a South Korean firm —— TaeSung Chemicals, the Government hopes to save more than US$100 million a day used for fuel imports.
Despite all these efforts, the success of the project, however, hinges on the need to raise more awareness at the grassroots.
Most of the people in the targeted communities of Mudzi, Mutoko, Murehwa and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe are still in the dark about the new Government drive and many are still sceptical.
As always, sceptics —— the habitually doubting Thomases who question anything and everything —— are dismissing the Government thrust as a waste of time.
A villager from Maramba’’s Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe District who, however, flatly refused to be identified said: "Ah! Zvinoita here izvozvo? Iwe unofunga here kuti tumhodzitwo tungaburitse mafuta angafambise mota? Ngavatange vambotiratidza kuti zvinoita tozorima zvimiti zvacho (Do you think it’’s possible that those small seeds can produce diesel to move a car? Let them demonstrate it first before we start planting the twigs.)
Unfortunately, for the cynics, when the wheels of development turn they are not kind and history has many examples of such people who have missed great opportunities to uplift themselves.
Many, however, welcomed the drive but hoped that the existing mechanisms such as the Agricultural Research and Extension Services (Arex) and schools would be used to maximise publicity about the plant.
"It’’s great news indeed if this plant can produce diesel. We shall, from now on, cherish this plant," said Ambuya Manyenga from Mutoko’’s Dehwe Village.
She pointed out just about half a dozen of the plant that were planted some three years ago but have only survived this far simply because it is highly drought tolerant.
Though many like Ambuya Manyenga may now be aware of the importance of the plant, they also need to learn more about how to care for it so that it produces better.
Fortunately for Mrs Nyamatanga, she has learnt that when planting the twigs, the stem will rot if planted during wet conditions.
"After cutting the twigs, let them dry a bit for about two weeks then plant them in the dry season like October," she said.
But research indicates that it is advisable to plant seedlings if the Jatropha is grown for commercial purposes. Jatropha can also be inter-cropped with other farm produce such as vegetables.
Zimbabwe has actually joined a global bio-diesel promotion campaign to make Jatropha curcas plant the sustainable fuel source for the future.
The Indian-based Centre for Jatropha Promotion points out that there has been substantial political and social pressures to promote the growing of such crops as a means of economic empowerment, social upliftment and poverty alleviation within marginalised communities.
The centre says: "Jatropha is a valuable multi-purpose crop to alleviate soil degradation, desertification and deforestation, which can be used for bio-energy to replace petro-diesel, for soap production and climatic protection, and hence deserves specific attention
"Jatropha can help to increase rural incomes, self-sustainability and alleviate poverty for women, elderly, children and men, tribal communities and small farmers. It can as well help to increase income from plantations and agro-industries."
India is aiming to become a world leader in producing bio-diesel from Jatropha curcas.
The centre notes that Jatropha curcas produces seeds with an oil content of 37 percent that can be combusted as fuel without being refined while by-products such as the press cake are good organic fertilizer and oil also contains an insecticide.
It could be some time before Zimbabwe reaches India’’s position but a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
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