India targets 2 million tons of biodiesel by 2012

India is forecast to produce 2 million tons of biodiesel by 2012, as it aggressively plants wild jatropha oilseed, a senior industry official said. The nation has identified 64 million hectares of wasteland that can be planted with jatropha, a non-edible oilseed, which grows even on arid land. “India has 64 million hectares of wasteland and we asked the government to just provide 20% of the wasteland for planting jatropha,” said Rajiv Gulati, vice president of the Biodiesel Association of India. 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. But now several corporates, farmer groups and cooperatives were taking the plunge as states were allocating wasteland for oilseed cultivation, Gulati said. “Some state governments have already started giving land to interested parties, but it comes with conditions,” Gulati said. India plans to replace around 5% of its current 40 million tons of annual diesel fuel consumption with biodiesel produced from jatropha oilseeds within about five years. Jatropha is seen as a good bet for India if it wants to cut back on oil imports that account for 70% of its needs. (August 30, 2007)