Soil to Oil

How Energy Grows on Jatropha Trees
By An Sithav & Sam CampbellEconomics Today
Cambodia remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels for electricity generation and transport, and with domestic sources of oil and gas not likely to be viable in the short term, biofuels are increasingly appealing.
Cambodia possesses domestic resources for the production of electricity from clean sources but making use of oil and gas reserves to fuel the growing demand from transport will take time, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) report "Status and Potential for the Development of Biofuel and Rural Renewable Energy Cambodia."
"Biofuel is one option for use in transport, and biofuel will remain a worthwhile option for a diversified energy supply even after the country's oil reserves become available," added the report. In the short-tomedium term, both the urban and rural electricity supply will continue to be dominated by oil-fired generators, making decentralized biofuel production for transport and electricity an attractive option.
A Poisonous Blessing
While most efforts are focused on the production of gasoline-like ethanol from food crops like corn or cassava, the production of so-called bio-diesel from Jatropha curas could be much more suitable for Cambodia. Well-known in provincial Cambodia as Lahong Kwong in Khmer, the perennial poisonous shrub has been grown in Cambodia for generations, mostly as a natural fence to deter hungry cattle. The plant, originating in Central America, has spread to Asia and Africa. It is highly resistant to aridity, can be planted on marginal land unable to support food crops, and can grow even in the desert.
Peter Bolster, chief technical advisor for GTZ in Cambodia, said that Jatropha must not compete with the cultivation of food. But, since the plant also grows on soil not suitable for normal agricultural usage, dormant or fallow land can be put into biofuel production.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has said that Cambodia has great potential to expand jatropha plantations because of the many economic land concessions in Ratanakiri, Monldikiri, Stung Treng, Kampot, Koh Kong, Kampong Speu and Kampong Chhnang, each with unused or underutilized land of from 30,000 ha to 315,000 ha.
Already-cleared forest areas, unused land, and forest areas that have been converted to agriculture can be planted with Jatropha, and should not create competition with other food crops.
A Seedy Business
Jatropha seeds contain 27-40 percent oil (with an average of around 35 percent) that can be processed to produce a high-quality biodiesel fuel, usable in a standard diesel engine.
Jatropha oil can also be used as a lubricant and for making high-quality soap, and the seed cake residues from oil extraction can be used as a high-grade fertilizer and industrial fuel.
According the 2008 World Bank report "Agriculture for Development," biofuel offer a potential source of renewable energy and possible large new market for agricultural producers. "With few alternative fuels for transport, Brazil, the EU, the US, and several other countries are actively supporting the production of liquid biofuels," said the report. "As a renewable energy source, biofuel could help mitigate climate change and reduce dependent on oil in the transportation sector and may also offer larger new markets for agricultural producer that could stimulate rural growth and farm incomes."
The countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), namely Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, are poised to embark on, or have already begun, biofuel development, said ADB report.
The main advantages of biofuels are a reduced dependence on foreign oil and consequent savings on energy expenditure that could instead be invested in other development activities. Biofuel production can thus boost a country’s energy security. A second advantage is the potential of biofuel production to promote rural development. Biofuels present an opportunity to diversify agriculture and, if properly planned, can attract investment and new technology to invigorate agriculture.
By introducing a 5 percent biofuel blend into retailed fuels from 2011 to 2015, and a 10 percent blend by 2020, more than 300,000 tons of imported fuel could be saved every year. At current yields, this goal would be achievable if Cambodia planted 200,000 ha of Jatropha, a move that would create around 200,000 new jobs.

Cambodia still lacks anything approaching a national power grid, with power supplies generated by 24 unconnected, isolated grids, one in each of the 24 provinces. The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) has responsibility for 10 provinces and Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) runs operations in 14 provinces, including Phnom Penh. Generation relies mostly on imported diesel and 2 mini-hydro plants with an installed capacity of 13 MW, the report states.
In Cambodia, the price of electricity is much higher than neighboring countries, competing for the dubious honor of the world's most expensive supply.
"Many parts of the Cambodian countryside do not yet have electricity and this is hindering development," said Peter Bolster. Jatropha plantations owned by Cambodian farmers can generate energy locally for households without massive infrastructure investments, enabling a bottom up, 'grassroots' economic development, he claimed, not least since existing diesel generators can be used without modification.
Bun Haq, a Jathropha oil entrepreneur in Banteay Meanchey province, claimed it should be easy to understand why jatropha is a good crop. Every family can profit from growing Jatraopha, he said, because the 5-metre-tall plants can live for up to 70 years.
"I believe this experiment will work here. We are helping initiatives set up by communes that have no electricity yet," said Peter Bolster.
However, while Cambodian farmers traditionally extract Jatropha oil to burn for lighting, the growth of Jatropha plantations has been small-scale and sporadic. A recent interest in extracting the oil and marketing it on a commercial scale has attracted small-scale farmer entrepreneurs, the ADB report said, with farmers reporting that 1 ha of Jatropha yields about 2,500 kg of seeds with 25 percent oil content. Thus, an estimated total of 68,000 tons of Jatropha seeds are currently produced every year in Cambodia, with an annual yield potential of 17,000 tons of oil.
Efficient Processing
The plant’s fruits must be collected daily. Good timing is important: the majority of the fruit bunches must have turned from green to yellow, indicating that they are ripe and ready to be harvested. Unripe or overripe seeds result in reduced oil content.

Processing the fruits into fuel is surprisingly efficient, with little waste products. "Every level and stage has own financial benefits," said Dave Granger of of Biodiesel Cambodia, the first firm to commercially produce biodiesel in Cambodia.

Jatropha-derived biodiesel also has benefits over other veg biofuel feedstocks for the end consumer. "All biofuels have limitations as regards to the climates they can be used in," Granger explained. "Other types have high gel points [the temperature the liquid fuel turns into a gel], meaning colder countries are not an option. But Jatropha [derived biodiesel] gels in the negative temperatures," meaning any excess fuel can be exported.
Despite its advantages, Jatropha cultivation is not without hardships. An industry saturated with misinformation and confusion makes good advice for farmers hard to come by. Established opinions on Jatropha- derided as a worthless weed by many rural Khmers-combined with the bitter failure of other failed 'miracle crops', mean that convincing locals to start growing is not always easy, admitted Granger. A lack of technical skills and poor education can also lower yields, he said, and reliable markets closer to production centers are urgently needed.
Alexander Noack, an engineer, said that Cambodia's climate is ideal for the cultivation of Jatropha. "Here we do not have a cold winter like in Europe. The temperatures are constant and therefore very suitable for plant technology."
Jatropha has become a favorite response to biofuel criticism but experience cultivating Jatropha curcas as a crop is lacking, and agricultural techniques have yet to be established, said Chey Chong Siang, a researcher from the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. "A period of research and development will be needed to establish Jatropha curcas as a plantation crop that can be cultivated on a commercial basis. Regardless, many countries and companies are going ahead and injecting capital into the development of large-scale plantations, which is an alarming situation."
Experience with biofuel processing in Cambodia is project-based, meaning a not-for-prrofit ethos that can often result in delays and inefficiency.

A lack of interest from investors means that there have been so far no large-scale Jatropha operations in Cambodia, said Douglas Clayton, CEO of Leopard Capital. "Jatropha hasn't yet attracted the large scale plantations necessary to support a significant biofuels refinery. It's a chicken-and-egg problem," he told Economics Today.
While the development of Jatropha plantations in Cambodia has slowed during the downturn, there is interest in the sector, said David Foo, a biodiesel consultant. "We are waiting for next year to invest in growing Jatropha because the economic crisis currently affected our source of funding. Now, we are negotiating with the US for next year," he told Economics Today. He said that cultivation of Jatropha in Cambodia has increased moderately since last year.
Q & A with David Granger, Biodiesel Cambodia

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By An SithavEconomics Today
Could you tell me briefly about Jatropha production in Cambodia? Which provinces have Jatropha production?
There is a Chinese company growing about 700ha in Kampong Speu, a Malaysian company growing about 60ha in Kampong Speu, (both of these companies have local Khmer partners). There is some local companies growing Jatropha in Battambong, Banteay Meanchey, and Pursat. There is also a Japanese company growing in Pursat and a Malaysian company doing contract farming in Banteay Meanchey. There are a coupe of other Japanese projects but I'm not sure where they are growing. I've also heard that MH- Biofuels (the ethanol people) have moved into Jatropha, but you'd need to contact them to confirm if this is true.
I estimate the national yearly production of Jatropha seed to be at about 300 tons of seed.
How is the market for Jatropha in Cambodia and elsewhere?
As a result of encouragement by MIME and other organizations, some local companies have joined early foreign investors as the first movers of growing Jatropha in Cambodia. These farms are now 2 to 3 years old and producing seed. Many of these first movers are now complaining of no market for their seeds, but in actually fact there is a market-it just doesn't offer the same high buying price as their own unrealistic expectations.
I am always looking for large volumes of seed to purchase, but every time I speak to current growers, they demand prices for their seed that just aren’t realistic—prices as high as US$6 per kilogram. When you take into account that it takes 4kg of seed to make 1 litre of oil, and that 1 litre of oil must compete with the cost of 1 litre of diesel fuel, it is clear that such high prices for buying of seed are not possible. The only time people will pay such a high amount for seed is if the seed is intended for use as planting material, and even then, the seed must qualify as being suitable by meeting certain quality standards and be of the correct genetic origin.
People seeking to buy commercial quantities of Jatropha seed so that they can extract the oil and make biodiesel are able to pay between CR 400-500 per kilogram of seed. This should be the standard market price for seeds in Cambodia. Now and again people establishing new plantations will buy a few hundred kilograms of seed and pay a much higher price per kg and this is giving sellers of large quantities of seed the wrong impression. They then seek to sell their many tons of seed at this same high price.
I think in another year or two, once more people have planted Jatropha and larger quantities of seed are available, the market price will stabilise to a more realistic and financially viable level of about CR500 per kilogram.
There are current buyers of Jatropha in Cambodia, though they are using the seeds either for plantations or for local crushing activities. The current national production of Jatropha is not sufficient to interest the international market. Anyone seeking to export Jatropha seed needs to have about 100 tons per shipment to make it economically feasible.
What constraints are there on the Jatropha industry in Cambodia?
I have observed the development of Jatropha in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. One thing that I observe is missing in Cambodia is the support of national research institutions. In both Thailand and Vietnam, there are agricultural universities and government institutions that are heavily involved in research and development of agriculture. They give enormous help to both local farmers and foreign investors when establishing and operating agricultural projects. They can provide scientific testing of soil and plants, give information on weather and soil types, and assistance in pest and disease management. If such support was readily available to farmers and companies in Cambodia, it would be of great benefit and would result in not only a higher participation rate, but higher economic output.
Talking about Jatropha production, do you think this crop is the potential crop to grow or not? why?
I strongly believe in the potential of Jatropha farming to provide an economic benefit to local farmers, as well as providing a locally-grown feedstock to drive the production of a national biofuel industry. Such an industry can decrease the countries current 100% reliance on foreign, imported oil and improve the efficiencies of many sectors of the national economy, such as industry, transport, and agriculture.
I have personal experience and, so, great confidence in the ability to grow Jatropha profitability on degraded soils that cannot otherwise be used productively. I also believe that Cambodia has a great deal of currently idle land that could be brought to economic use, bringing increases in employment and the contributing to the growth of supporting local industries in rural areas, where it is needed most.
Can Jatropha farming boost rural development? Does this development help the rural poor?
There are three models of Jatropha farming—plantation, contract farming, and local growers, all of which contribute to rural employment.
The first, a plantation model, is where a company obtains land and is responsible for all aspects of the farming. In this case they need to employ local farmers to work on the plantation. This contributes to a rise in local employment and in the cases of large plantations, can also encourage the reversal of urban migration by enabling family members who have moved to the cities to return to their rural homes to work. When plantations are established, they invariably drive the creation of many other smaller businesses that are required to support the needs of the local workforce, such as food growers, sellers, and distributors.
The second model, contract farming, is where a company will assist local farmers to grow on their own land by providing materials and monies needed to establish their Jatropha crop. This assistance is provided in exchange for the guaranteed sale of the seeds they grow at a certain price to the company. This also creates rural employment and economic activity, though greater responsibility is put upon the farmer to ensure he produces enough crop to achieve a financial benefit.
The third model of Jatropha farming is where a farmer is responsible for all costs of establishment and managing Jatropha on his own land. Although the farmer requires his own capital for this type of farming, he has more freedom where to sell his crop and more freedom in the price he can demand for it.
When the Jatropha that is produced from any of these forms of farming is used for the production of a locally produced biofuel, this often results in the availability of a lower-priced fuel for farmers to use. With a lower price for fuel, greater levels of mechanisation and increased productivity are achieved in local farming. It also means savings in households that depend on such fuel for power needs. All this means higher real incomes for rural areas.
How should government and stakeholders develop Jatropha farming in Cambodia?
I have observed that most current Jatropha operations are poorly established and managed, ignoring some of the basic technical requirements needed to produce high seed yields. These growers can never expect to achieve the high yields that will bring them the maximum financial benefit.
I would like to see the creation of an industry association to support growers by providing them with the most accurate technical information on the growing of Jatropha. If a farmer decides to get involved in growing Jatropha, he should be informed on the best way to do it, so he can be successful in achieving the highest yields.
It would be great to see Cambodia’s rural universities receive some substantial grants to research Jatropha and provide real support to local farmers and foreign investors seeking to grow Jatropha. It would also be great to have a government portal specifically for Jatropha where companies could easily access useful information from government departments such as weather data, soil data, and a database of local business and industries needed to establish Jatropha farms, all at no cost.