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A
PROFESSOR from the University of the Philippines in Los
Baños (UPLB), Laguna, is optimistic that more seeds of a
new energy crop will be planted as the country searches
for sources of biofuel feedstocks.
“I see the
numbers growing in just a few span of time,” said Virgilio
Villancio at a recent executive forum on biofuels at Dusit
Thani Hotel in Makati.
He was
referring to jatropha (Jatropha curcas), a tree-shrub that
shows promise as a new biodiesel crop in the Philippines
that could one day power engines and generators.
Presently,
the country has less than 10,000 hectares of land being
developed for jatropha production, said Villancio, the
project leader of jatropha development in the country.
M. PRABHAKAR REDDY, an expert
at the International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) based in Andra Pradesh, India,
explains to visiting Filipino journalists the
characteristics of jatropha. Icrisat is doing research on
jatropha oil for biodiesel.
--ICRISAT PHOTO
According
to a study by the UPLB, there are 12,992,812 hectares of
land throughout the country that are “suitable” for
jatropha development. The study showed that these land
areas are also appropriate for coconut production.
“This
means that jatropha and coconut can be developed in the
same place simultaneously,” said Villancio, pertaining to
Quezon Province, Bicol, Samar, Leyte and some parts of
Mindanao.
“Jatropha
provides quantity. Coconut provides quality,” said
Villancio.
The
coconut industry in the country, on the other hand,
involves 3.2 million hectares of land. Twenty-five million
people are dependent on the industry.
Also, he
has “keen” prospects for the 220,000-hectare land in
Cagayan Valley for growing jatropha and coconut. Palawan
and Panay Island are also included in the outlook,
according to the university report.
The areas
most hit by the
Mount Pinatubo eruption 14 years ago—Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga—have
shown signals and improvements for developing jatropha and
coconut, said Villancio.
“Not only
in the central and southern part of the country. We are
looking for the jatropha and coconut production in
Northern Luzon. The area has good amount of rainfall,” he said.
Recently,
the Philippine Coconut Authority said it is on the lookout
of 500,000 more hectares of land for coconut production to
hurdle the 5-percent blend target of the government by
next year.
Seventeen
colleges and universities throughout the country have also
been doing research on jatropha and enterprise
development. They make up 600 hectares.
Earlier
reports also said that 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.
The
India-based International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics is also doing a research on the most
viable variety of jatropha as feedstock for biofuels.
As of June
2007, available jatropha seedlings reached 571,074.
“We can’t
wait for eight more years to recommend [whether jatropha
is viable]. In the near term, we are putting out a
participatory evaluation in Laguna, where residents
themselves can attest on jatropha’s possibility,” said
Villancio.
In a year,
Jatropha yields 2,000 kilograms to 5,000 kilograms of
seeds a hectare. It generates 30 percent to 40 percent of
nonedible oil. It produces 0.75 to 2 tons of biodiesel in
every one hectare.
Villancio
said milling stations would be built in Bataan in 2009.
The oil extracted from jatropha can be readily used next
year, he added.
The firm
Herminio Teves & Co. Inc. (HTCI) recently signed a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) with European biofuels
company Global Trees Technologies Inc. (GTT) for the
cultivation of jatropha for biodiesel production.
Former
congressman and HTCI chief executive officer Herminio
Teves said his company based in Negros Oriental would soon
sign a $20-million agreement with the biofuels company for
the construction of a turbine-run plant that will extract
oil from jatropha seeds.
The
partnership will cultivate jatropha in about 25,000
hectares of idle lands in Dumaguete and nearby towns.
An HTCI
and GTT study showed that farmers stand to earn as much as
P39,000 to P40,000 yearly starting on the fifth year of
planting onward. It also emphasized that jatropha will
neither exacerbate the ongoing debate on the use of food
for biofuel nor compete in the utilization of land for
food production.
The first
company to utilize jatropha as a biofuel feedstock is the
Philippine National Oil Co. that has a plantation in
Palawan, while HTCI is the first private company to use jatropha for
biofuel.
Jatropha
grows in eroded soil that requires little irrigation. Only
the fruit is harvested for its seeds.
The search
for biofuel feedstocks occurs as the implementation of
Biofuels Act 2006 comes into full force.
The law
requires a minimum 1- percent biodiesel be blended in all
diesel fuels and 5-percent bioethanol in all
gasoline-engine fuels, within two years upon the
effectivity of the act. The mandated blend increases to 2
percent for biodiesel, 10 percent for bioethanol, two
years and four years, respectively, from the effectivity
of the law.
This year
the
Philippines
will require 81 million liters of oil. The road transport
consumes 28 percent of total use. The energy sector’s
lofty goal is to reach the 60-percent sufficiency level on
oil by 2010. | 
