Jatropha - a biofuel crop

The biofuel output of respective crops has been measured, and is normally given in barrels of oil per angular mile per year. Corn is a popular biofuel harvest in the USA, but it yields under 200 barrels (per angular mile per year. Rice for instance yields nearly 1000 barrels, however it is a vital global nutrient harvest as are most of the new prospective biofuel crops. It is merely not workable to take better character arable farmland for growing biofuels, biofuel crops need to be grown on minimal soil if we are to gain from them. This is where Jatropha scores extremely. Not simply does it get a good output of easily over 2,000 barrels of oil per angular mile per year, it too increases the birthrate of the soil on which it is grown then that it can possibly be used for nutrient crops in consequent years.


Jatropha is perennial which can grow in arid conditions (even deserts), on any kind of ground, and does not require irrigation or suffer in droughts. Therefore unlike the common biofuel crops of today (corn and sugar), they are very easy to cultivate even on poor land in Africa providing great social and economic benefits for that region.

Jatropha is fast growing and it begins yielding oil in the second year and for the next forty to fifty years. Optimal yields are obtained from the sixth year, and spaced at 2 metre intervals, around 2500 plants can be cultivated per hectare. Jatropha absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and therefore earns carbon credits.

Find out more about Jatropha and its use as a biofuel here with our guide to the facts and figures about Jatropha.