2,000-hectare jathropa plantation eyed in Sultan Kudarat

KORONADAL CITY — The government is expected to develop 2,000 hectares of land for coconut and jathropa in Columbio town and three other localities in Sultan Kudarat province to boost the government’s biofuel development program in Central Mindanao.

Columbio Mayor Edwin Bermudez said during an interview that the government would pour in P1 billion to the planned coconut and jathropa production in his town and in the municipalities of Palimbang, Ninoy Aquino and President Quirino.

"The program is timely and we really appreciate the government, especially President Arroyo, for pushing the project. It’s really a program that deserves to be appreciated," Bermudez said.

He disclosed that the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will lead the implementation of the program but funding would be sourced from the Land Bank of the Philippines in the form of soft-loans to local government units and cooperatives.

"With respect to processing biofuel from coconut and jathropa oils, the government would help put up a plant to process it into commercial quantity biofuel," Bermudez said.

Coconut and jathropa were found to be useful as mixes to imported fuel. It can be used to run engines of all kinds of vehicles and reduces oil consumption as well.

Palimbang Mayor Labualas Mamansual said his town welcomed the program because coconut and jathropa biofuel are environment-friendly.

Jathropa would be planted side by side with the coconut trees. It would bear fruit after six months. A five-kilo jatropha flower can yield a liter of biofuel.

The mayors of the four towns were briefed by officials of Palayan City, which pioneered jathropa growing, when they visited the city’s vast coconut-jathropa plantations last month.