Working with local farmers, the Netherland's biodiesel equipment manufacturer BioKing has planted 15,000 hectares of Jatropha Curcas in Senegal. The company's medium-term goal is to increase this area to 60,000 hectares. An important part of BioKing's business model is sustainable development, and to this end BioKing is developing a contract-farming model in developing nations, with a view to promoting employment and self-sufficiency for local people.

 

Jatropha is a bush that grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions. It is a tough plant, and once planted requires little maintenance. 

 

Jatropha is toxic, and it is not eaten by goats or other animals.

 

BioKing presses the seeds produced by local farmers using BioKing's own equipment, which the company installs within walking distance of the farm.

 

A useful by-product of this process is presscake.  Presscake can be sun-dried and used as a cooking fuel, or spread on the fields as mulch.

 

BioKing management say they use a 'triple bottom line': people, planet, profit. According to this concept, sustainable development in business means creating value in three dimensions: 

• people - the social impact of company operations, to people within and outside the company
• planet - the impact of company operations on the environment
• profit - the impact of added economic value

BioKing's management believe the developmental and environmental aspects of their activities are good for business...biodiesel production needs a regular, high-quality supply of feedstock, and the best way to achieve this is to involve the local community in the production, and profits, of the business.

 

See previous articles on Jatropha:

 

D1 Oils plants 174,000 ha of Jatropha in Zambia
http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/122/2/

Western Australia bans Jatropha Curcas
http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/28/2/

Wolfowitz praises Brazilian biofuels
http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/108/2/
 

David Smith, Singapore