President orders propagation of Jatropha trees

President Arroyo yesterday ordered the Department of Energy (DoE) to widen the scope of the proposed propagation of Jatropha trees by including in the program all available public lands in the country aside from the planned Jatropha plantations inside military camps.

Mrs. Arroyo issued the directive to Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla after her inspection of the 35-hectare Jatropha plantation inside Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija, yesterday morning.
Mrs. Arroyo said the DoE should coordinate with local government units and the private sector to establish plantations of Jatropha trees in their unused lands.

Lotilla said the country needs at least 100 hectares of Jatropha plantation to be able to start production of Jatropha diesel.

Lotilla added that the government is planning to establish its own Jatropha processing plant to become only the third country to have such technology, after Germany and India.

The Jatropha fruit can be processed into oil which is believed to be a suitable replacement for diesel. The tree is drought-resistant and has an economic life of up to 35 years.

"Jatropha is the best alternative fuel and we need to propagate this," Mrs. Arroyo said, adding that Jatropha is easy to plant and grows with minimal supervision.

Mrs. Arroyo congratulated Northern Luzon Command chief Maj. Gen. Romeo Tolentino for their contributions to the government’s campaign to achieve energy self-sufficiency through the Jatropha plantation in Fort Magsaysay. (David Cagahastian)

Manila BulletinJune 4, 2006