“On the hilly grasslands of the western state of Maharashtra, India, near the village of Malegaon, Maruti Chindu and his tribe of some 40 men and women busily plant jatropha saplings.  The saplings are expected to bear seed in three to four years, one of dozens of new biodiesel projects being planned by private firms to feed India's galloping energy needs. Once the trees start bearing seeds, they will continue the yields for the next 30 years without a break.

In anticipation of the rapidly evolving biofuels market, dozens of private firms are contracting villagers to grow the hardy, oil-rich plant in their mostly barren plots of land.

In the past, the tribes -- who have suffered caste discrimination for years in India -- would randomly pluck the fat, green seeds of the jatropha and set them on bamboo spikes to make torches. But now they treat the plant almost reverentially.

Jatropha is seen as a good bet for India if it wants to cut back on oil imports that account for 70 percent of its needs. "We really have taken a calculated risk, though we believe in the future of jatropha," said Avinash Rangnekar, head of Ace Agro, which is cultivating jatropha in Malegaon village. "We are trying to cut down the risk by combining the cultivation with medicinal plants," said Rangnekar.  

The plants yield oils which can be mixed in medicines for treatment of body aches, pains in joints and infections. Extracts of the medicinal plant would be ready for exports in six months, giving a cushion of funds for sustaining jatropha cultivation.”

Excerpted from PlanetArk.com Reuter’s article by Biman Mukherji and Hari Ramachandran “Wild Jatropha Stirs Hope of Biodiesel Bounty in India” 11-02-06