Jatropha can raise rural incomes - study

MANILA, Philippines – Rural households can increase their income by growing jatropha.

Attesting to this is a study done by the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Forestry and Natural Resources (UPLB-CFNR).

Conducted by Dr. Nena Espiritu, Leni Garcia, Ma. Cynthia Casin, and Aresna Palacpac, the study was founded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

Dr. Espiritu presented the results of the two-year study at a workshop on biofuels organized for media practitioners by the UPLB-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

The workshop was supported by the Department of Energy, National Biofuel Board, Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corp., Sugar Regulatory Administration, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, US Agency for International Development-Environment and Clean Air Project, and World Agroforestry Center.

Dr. Espiritu reported that the majority of the study’s respondents attested that jatropha could help meet household expenses.

In another way, jatropha can make idle or vacant lands productive.

Respondents in the study were 50 households, as well as municipal and barangay leaders, in 15 sites in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. – Rudy A. Fernandez