Jatropha was put forward as the most suitable crop because, it
was said, that it could be grown on a range of available land,
including in under-stocked forests, on public land alongside
railways and roads, and alongside agricultural crops. An added
advantage was that it would help improve degraded land and so
play a part in poverty alleviation programmes.
The Planning Commission identified 13.4 million hectares of land,
which could be planted with Jatropha curcas. This included:
> 3 million hectares (notional) of forest land (out of India’s 31
million hectares of under-stocked forest).
> 3 million hectares (notional) of jatropha plants for hedges on
agricultural land (on the basis that 30 million hectares of
farmland is likely to be hedged).
> 2 million hectares (notional) agro-forestry, seen as particularly
suitable for absentee landlords.
> 10% of fallow lands, creating 2.4 million ha.
> 2 million ha on wastelands under Integrated Watershed
Development and other poverty alleviation programmes.
> 1 million ha (notional) on public lands along railway tracks, roads
and canals.
A further 4 million ha of “waste land” could also be assumed to be
available, according to the Commission.
Jatropha’s status as a non-food crop was a crucial factor for the
Government. As food prices surged, with shortages in many parts
of the world, land use for fuel production has come under
increasing criticism.
But while jatropha can be grown on land that is not suitable for
food production, it can, and in fact, is often grown on cultivable
land as it produces much higher yields here.
The Commission claimed that jatropha would generate “massive
income and employment for the poor,” providing employment for
127.6 million man-days in the plantations and 36.8 million person
days for seed collection by 2007. Income from the sales of seed
would generate Rs 750 million, enabling 1.9 million poor families
to escape from poverty.
There have been various estimates of the costs and returns of
jatropha plantations, with government agencies and private
companies alike suggesting that the plantations can be highly
profitable, with high yields and low input costs.
But studies of jatropha growth have found that to obtain an
optimum yield, jatropha needs good fertile soil and also inputs such
as manure, which adds to the costs. The plants need treating for pest
control, and some manual labour to weed the plantation and water
the site is needed. All of which increase the costs for the farmer.
Demand for jatropha seedlings has also increased the costs of
setting up a plantation, and a number of private companies have
set up nurseries to sell seeds and saplings in the hope of cashing in
on demand.
Jatropha is a non-food crop that can grow on land that is not
suitable for food production, but it will also grow on marginal and
more cultivable land. The Indian government has targeted “waste
land” and degraded forest lands for jatropha cultivation, seeking to
avoid competition with food, but forests and marginal land can be
a crucial source of food.
An analysis of “wasteland” in India (see table below) shows that in
fact much of the land officially classified as wasteland is not
suitable for any form of cultivation, including jatropha. Those areas
which could be cultivated are predominantly covered by degraded
forests, and degraded pasture land.
Many of the forests being targeted are found in areas where there is
little agricultural productivity, often in dry or hilly areas. In some of
these areas, a third of the population are officially below the poverty
line. More than half of the forest dwellers are tribal people44.
In these areas, shared community resources (known as common
pool resources -CPRs), such as village forests and commons,
provide food, fuel and timber for many of the poorest rural
communities. A state appraisal of the value of the forests
recognised that some 100 million forest dwellers depended on the
forests for these resources45. Many of these people subsist through
small scale farming and animal grazing.
BY KUNAL
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