Jatropha Curcas ‘Linneus’ is a little known plant species in New Zealand.  The plant is grown to about 3 meters high and produces seed that contain an inedible vegetable oil that is used to produce biofuel. New Zealand has to catch up with countries that produce Jatropha as a source of fuel as there is a looming danger of using edible crops to meet our biofuel demands. This creates a moral issue where the food price ultimately becomes linked to the price of fuel, the results of which are self explanatory.

Each Jatropha seed produces between 35% and 37% of its mass in oil. Whereas we are all aware of the Governments directive that requires a minimum level of biofuel as a proportion of fuels sold, there are insufficient sources of raw material (feedstock) for making biodiesel and other biofuel for all motor vehicles. However the Jatropha plant has many benefits for farmers and supply to the country as a whole.

• It is drought resistant.

• It can be grown almost anywhere - even in sandy, saline, or otherwise infertile soil.

• It adapts well to marginal soils  with low nutrient content.

• It is relatively easy to propagate.

• It is not invasive, damaging, or spreading like gorse.

• It is capable of stabilizing sand dunes, acting as a windbreak or combating desertification.

• It naturally repels insects and animals do not browse it.

• It lives for over 50 years producing seeds all the time.

• It is frost hardy (does not like hard freezes)

• It does not exhaust the nutrients in the land.

• It does not require expensive crop rotation.

• It does not require fertilizers.

• It grows quickly and establishes itself easily.

• It has a high yield

• No displacement of food crops is necessary.

• It is great for developing countries in terms of energy and jobs.

• The biodiesel byproduct, glycerin, is profitable in itself.

• The waste plant mass after oil extraction can be used as a fertilizer.