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Jatropha program in Philippines will aid small farmers raise income
Added 326 days ago - The Philippine Forest Corp. (PFC) cited its Jatropha Plantation Program (JPP) as a sustainable source of income for small farmers during these times of economic crisis exacerbated by the typhoons that recently ravaged the Philippines.
The PFC said the jatropha program, which is its contribution to President Arroyo’s Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program (AHMP), continues to provide employment to small farmers.
The small farmers get paid by being hired to plant and take care of jatropha seedlings so they can grow and become feedstock for biodiesel, a cheaper and more environment-friendly fuel which can be extracted from jatropha seeds.
The PFC and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are part of the antihunger task force created by the President to implement the AHMP.
The antihunger task force is composed of about 30 government agencies engaged in food production and distribution and chaired by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
The PFC reported that the DENR granted 375,091 hectares to be used exclusively for jatropha production. Of this area, 10,000 hectares have been leased to Teves Co. and 7,450 hectares committed in a joint venture with the local government of Camarines Sur for jatropha production.
There are also 30 more hectares in different regions in the Philippines open for public auctions for jatropha production.
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