Kenya Bio-Diesel Association forms to promote jatropha

In Kenya, a Kenya Bio-Diesel Association has been formed to to promote jatropha-based biodiesel production. The association was established as an outcome of the 2008 National Bio-energy Conference in Nairobi. Jatropha has been used for many years in Kenya as a hedging plant.

Japan’s Biwako Bio-Laboratory said earlier this year that it would  invest $19.4 million in a jatropha biodiesel facility and jatropha plantations at an undisclosed location in Kenya. Production capacity was not disclosed. The Green Africa Foundation is coordinating the plantation effort in Biwako’s behalf. More than 500,000 seedlings have been planted in the Eastern Rift Valley, Coast and Nyanza provinces over the past year under Green Africa’s auspices. The provinces suffer from severe forest degradation and jatropha is being used to stabilize forest as well as produce farm income.

The Green Africa Foundation said that the EU decision to focus its biofuels target on sustainable biofuels will help, not hurt, the growth of the African biofuels industry.

The Green Power jatropha biodiesel plant in Nairobi is attracting much attention from local farmers, as jatropha continues to be a hot topic across the continent.

Jatropha seeds yield up to 40 percent oil and waste matter is sold as fertilizer. However, with current yields of 1.7 tonnes of oil per acre, jatropha lags behind the 4 tonnes per acre realized from palm oil.

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