Biodiesel Feedstock Project Launched

Source: The Herald (Harare)

Date: 15 November 2005

Author: Wencelaus Murape

The Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on fuel and power import substitution recently launched the biodiesel feedstock production project in Mudzi, Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe and Murehwa districts.

Production of biodiesel from jatropha curcas (mujiramono) that is found in abundance in these areas is being viewed as an alternative to fossil fuels whose prices keep sky-rocketing, posing major challenges to oil importing countries.

The taskforce is made up of civil servants from the Ministries of Energy and Power Development, Science and Technology, Local Government, Youth Development and Employment Creation, Agriculture and Rural Development, Higher Education, and Industry and International Trade.

Mr Lovemore Hakuna, an energy development officer with the Ministry of Energy and Power Development highlighted the importance of developing capacity to produce liquid fuel using jatropha, a hard bush whose seed is crushed to produce vegetable oil that is refined into biodiesel.

"Jatropha carcus can be grown in semi-arid or degraded areas and does not compete for prime land with other crop production. It is easy to grow, does not require much management, and yields about 350 litres of oil for every tonne of seed," said Mr Hakuna.

He pointed out that jatropha is a potential cash crop for farmers, particularly those in drought prone areas who stand to harvest for up to 50 years while locally produced biodiesel is set to offer employment opportunities in research, plantation development, fuel processing and retailing.
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Mr Hakuna, however, conceded that there are few feedstock sources in Zimbabwe emphasising the need for a national feedstock production programme for jatropha. The Government has responded to this by zoning the country into 3 areas. Zone one, which has extensive jatropha plants and farmers experienced in growing the plant includes Mutoko, Mudzi, UMP, Murehwa, Nyanga, Bindura, Rushinga, and Shamva. Zone two, which has some scattered jatropha plants, covers Masvingo and Matabeleland provinces, while zone three covers the rest of the country with very little, if any, jatropha.

It is envisaged that when fully implemented, the biodiesel programme will contribute about 10 percent of Zimbabwe's fossil diesel consumption per year, which is equivalent to 300 000 litres per day, leading to a direct saving of at least US$100 million per annum.