Tottori University, one of the most highly respected institutions of
higher learning in Japan, plans to launch research activities in
Tanzania in collaboration with the Tanga-based Mlingano Agricultural
Research Institute and a Japanese firm known as Sekisui Chemical Co.
Ltd.
“Collaboration with other institutions in the research is expected to
benefit the rural poor in Tanzania through cultivation, processing and
utilisation of jatropha that is not hazardous to human health or the
environment,“ Tottori University`s Prof Ando Takayuki said in an
exclusive interview with The Guardian mid last week.
He explained that his university, through its Arid Land Research Centre
(ALRC), was disturbed seeing no environmental or socio-economic impact
assessment going on when large-scale jatropha cultivation was gaining
momentum.
“Jatropha is a drought-resistant plant that can be used in the
production of biofuels, potentially reduce carbon dioxide emissions and
make a country more self-reliant in its food needs. Its production
could therefore be a golden income-generation opportunity for rural
dwellers,“ noted the don, a socio-economist.
“The thrust of the research would be on monitoring the impact of
jatropha cultivation on the environment and human health and
establishing appropriate production techniques of enhancing
productivity without negatively impacting on the environment and the
community at large,“ he added.
Prof Takayuki said the major objective of the study was to establish a
sustainable rural development model, noting: “We are witnessing the
rapid expansion of jatropha production in various areas of the world
but we have not so far scientifically established its impact on the
environment and human health in general.“
According to the lecturer, who says he will be in Tanzania mid next
month for research work, already there are experimental jatropha farms
in Coast, Kilimanjaro and Morogoro regions.
“Since the plant can grow on dry land thanks to its drought-resistance
capacity, research should now focus on how such lands could be
judiciously exploited instead of putting huge chunks of arable land
under jatropha at the expense of food crop production,“ he advised.
The professor also observed that efforts to use dry lands in jatropha
production emanated from the fact that such lands now occupy 41 per
cent of the earth`s surface and are now home to more than 2 billion
people.
He said that came to a whole one-third of the world`s population by
2000 estimates, adding that developing countries are home to at least
90 per cent of the dry land population.
Some environmentalists have had reservations over continued jatropha
production, saying it could jeopardise food crop production by luring
many farmers to cultivate the biofuel plant.
Environmentalists have also recommended that government policies and
regulations ensure that land is sustainably used for the benefit of the
people.
They say allocating vast chunks of land to multinational investors, in
the process displacing villagers, could in the long run create many
social and economic problems rather than solve them.
It is feared that the trend would push small-scale farmers into the
likelihood of being evicted from their land by multinationals driven by
the need for huge profits.
GUARDIAN
Post published in: Africa News