Noczim urges farmers to grow jatropha

Noczim was given a mandate by Government through the Ministry of Energy and Power Development to spearhead the national biodiesel jatropha feedstock programme aimed at producing enough seed to produce biodiesel.

In a statement, the national fuel procurer said: "The ultimate aim is to produce biodiesel which is enough to substitute 10 percent of our national requirement. To this end, 40 000 hectares of jatropha has to be established this year and further on for the next three years.

"Noczim is, therefore, calling on all interested farmers and institutions with a minimum of five hectares to register and participate in its jatropha outgrower scheme for the 2007/8 agriculture season.

"This programme is now decentralised to the provinces and requires a minimum 5 000 hectares in every province for this year."

Noczim pledged that registered outgrower farmers and institutions would receive ready-to-plant seedlings once their land is prepared to establish jatropha plantations.

Early this year Noczim was quoted as saying it had collected 235 tonnes of seed for processing. The parastatal also announced that it intended to produce 100 million seedlings for the 2007/08 season.

Feasibility studies have shown that biodiesel could be the long-term answer to the fuel shortage facing the country.

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