tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8171119669988158355.post199666047963093393..comments2023-11-18T05:53:43.983-06:00Comments on ecosocialism canada: Ghana: Jatropha biofuel push faces protestsNext Year Countryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08057931166900219143noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8171119669988158355.post-55292395051807664742011-10-31T08:31:01.961-06:002011-10-31T08:31:01.961-06:00It is not the Jatropha that is the issue. The plan...It is not the Jatropha that is the issue. The plant does have the potential to end the poverty cycle for Africa, feed the world and cool the planet. It is how these companies that are using Jatropha and their planting methods. The push for quick profits and high yeilds is what is causing the problems. Jatrooha shouldn't be planted on land that could be used for food production. There is millions of acres in Northern Ghana that can't be used for food production. This is were Jatropha shines. When planted in marginal land, jatropha will fertilize the soil, stablize it against erosion. The low yeild is only temporary. There are many examples of Jatropha enriching marginal land so that it can be intercropped with food crops. http://www.jatrophaworld.org/intercropping_22.html<br />Plantation style planting of any monoculture crop in Ghana will led to problems. It is not just Jatroha. Carcoal and palm oil production are also hugh problems. Any production when done in the extreme can overstress the delicate balance. There needs to be a economy that makes sense at the village level. An economy that makes sense in the long term. Not these get rich quick schemes that come in quick and use up the previous resources and leave the villagers in a worst condition then before. It is not the plant, it is how it is being use. Applying the same old plantation methods will not work anymore. To go and cut down trees and monocrop on arable land is not helping the world. The University of Guelph in Canada is working on Jatropha production. Jatropha is being developed to grow in all different conditions and with less water and fertilizing needs. (As a bio-mash Jatropha is the best plant based matter to use in Bio Plastic) <br />As marginal land is made arable, food production increases, the economy of the village improves. There will be shift away from the destructive economies of charcoal and palm oil. The Jatropha oil can also be used locally for bio-diesel and other oil substitions (light, heat, soap) further increasing the economy of the village. <br />Any crop in Ghana has to address the needs and economy of the individual villages. If the local villages are not the greatest beneficiaries in the long term of any type of production it will not work. Second it has to improve food production and fertility of the soil. It is not the crop it is how it is being used. As individual villages use Jatropha along with other plants like Moringa to increase there production and improve their economy, there is an increase in bio-mass. The critism has been that it is replacing bio-mass from food. There needs to be a increase in bio-mass. The stems and leaves that are not used for oil increase the bio-mass and are carbon sinks. An increase in bio-mass, increase the water retention and that cools the land. The more the bio-mass, the more the affect. As more marginal land is now under cultivation, the affect spreads. This affect can change the world. Jatropha is only a plant, it has to be used in the right way for the circumstances. It has great potential but not for these companies who want a quick buck. If used has part of a sustainable plan where it is not displacing food, it is used to regenerate arable land and most importantly provide a sustainable economy for the individual villages then it can live up to it's potential. <br />A cooler northern Africa will reduce the severity of the storms that affect United States. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/#oriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com