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The
prospects of supply depletion, irreversible price increase
on fossil fuels and the threats of harmful gasoline
additives or oxygenates compelled the Philippines to
embark on a policy decision through the Biofuels Act 2006.
The
biofuels law is paving the way for the search for
feedstocks to support the biofuels industry.
Identified
as potential sources of feedstocks are coconut and
jatropha for biodiesel, while sugar cane, cassava and
sweet sorghum are the prospective crops for bioethanol.
Considering that these crops are embedded in the
agricultural food-production systems, any arable land
displacement to give way to feedstock production triggers
an issue on priority: food or energy security.
The
Philippine government is giving high priority on jatropha
as feedstock for biodiesel compared with other locally
produced biodiesel sources.
Jatropha (Jatropha
curcas L.), locally known as tubang bakod, was found to
exhibit more potential as an alternative to high-valued
products. Hence, a subprogram under the National Biofuels
Program (NBP) on jatropha for biodiesel production was
initiated by the Philippine Council for Agriculture,
Forestry and Natural Resources Research an Development (Pcarrd).
The
subprogram on jatropha, which focused on the agriculture
component of feedstock production, has project components,
namely, 1) germplasm management, varietal improvement and
seed technology; 2) development of component technologies
in various production systems; 3) development of
farming-system models integrating it in various production
systems; 4) development of postproduction machinery; and
5) process and equipment development for the production of
esterified jatropha oil.
With full
financial support from the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST) and the Philippine National Oil
Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC), the subprogram
started its implementation in July 2007.
The
University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), DOST, PNOC-AFC
and Pcarrd Research, Development and Extension (RDE) Team
hopes to deliver the culture and management of jatropha as
feedstock for biodiesel production under the Philippine
setting within the next three years.
The
research and development (R&D)-based integrated jatropha
program is envisioned to provide a package of appropriate
field-tested production and management technology that
considers the Philippine environmental and social milieu
to support and sustain an emerging biofuels industry in
the country.
At
present, R&D data are still being generated, thus, the
viability of jatropha production under local conditions
cannot be compared.
While
there were many reported plantation developments
undertaken by the private sector, still the science-based
information and technologies need to be completed and
firmed up before jatropha can safely be recommended for
massive domestication preferably in areas where food crops
are not cultivated.
However,
as a tropical country, researchers are confident that
yield per hectare (under same level of management) will be
higher than the countries from South Asia.
Likewise,
the viability of existing commercial plantations linked
with small-hold farms will be assessed and improved for
viable feedstock production. Moreover, appropriate
pest-and-disease-management schemes must be ensured in the
likelihood of pest and disease incidence as an offshoot of
massive plantation development.
To date,
25 jatropha genotypes, from the germplasm collection
nationwide, were initially selected and established at the
UPLB Central Experiment Station for the program’s varietal
improvement activities.
Earlier in
2006 the Commission on Higher Education has already tapped
17 state colleges and universities to engage in nursery
and plantation development of jatropha. The activity aimed
to produce good-quality planting materials and maintain a
collection of local germplasm in the plantation.
Pcarrd
stand
While
Pcarrd has already supported initiatives toward the
production of possible biofuels feedstock since 2005, it
remains firm on its stand that “neither food nor energy
will be compromised.”
Together
with the science and technology (S&T) community, Pcarrd
continuously strives to strike a balance between food and
energy security. As such, in the Pcarrd-coordinated
crafting of the NBP by key stakeholders from the
agriculture, forestry and environment sectors, it was
emphasized that the areas targeted in the NBP
implementation are those that are not used for the
cultivation of food crops.
Incidentally, NBP’s R&D component is composed of two
subprograms: the utilization of jatropha for biodiesel
production and R&D program on sweet sorghum for bioethanol
production.
Priority
areas targeted for jatropha planting are the marginal
areas where food crops (including sweet sorghum) are not
cultivated or cannot be cultivated. This includes degraded
grasslands, denuded uplands, lahar-affected areas and
mined waste areas.
The
program’s R&D components hope to provide the appropriate
technology mix for jatropha’s improved growth and yield
performance on these areas. Production systems that
integrate jatropha in agroforestry and agricultural
systems, such as in coconut and hilly lands, are also
being explored.
For sweet
sorghum, areas considered are those where rice, corn and
sugar cannot be productive because of limited irrigation
water. Sweet sorghum is, likewise, a potential dry-season
crop in rain-fed rice areas, thus, it can be planted in
these areas after the wet-season rice crop.
The NBP
hopes to provide S&T interventions that are consistent
with the Philippines’ Energy Plan, as well as
science-based production and postproduction information
and technologies supportive to the S&T Agenda.
The
food-for-fuel issue should, after all, be viewed from the
perspective of science.
While the
pursuit for food security is a foremost and legitimate
concern, which can be achieved by maintaining the
cultivation frontiers for food crops and allocating
resources to meet the country’s food requirements, Pcarrd
will not also discount efforts to address the country’s
increasing energy demands.
Toward
this goal, the council adheres to its stand that biofuel
crops should be developed or concentrated in
agroecosystems where they can best perform, without
compromising the country’s food requirements.
Pcarrd,
likewise, recognizes the need to address the plight of
marginalized farmers through benefits from alternative
employment and income opportunities emanating from the
biofuel revolution. (Faustina C. Baradas and Carina P.
Virtucio/DOST S&T Media Service) | 
