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Using Jatropha to mitigate soil degradation in Nigeria
Added 527 days ago - Available statistics has shown that Nigeria is losing approximately 0.6 km of land annually to desert encroachment. But more disturbing is the fact that economic activities and environmental resources of as many as 43 million people, going by the 2004 projections, are daily threatened by drought and desertification.
These people occupy about 397,222 sq. km of the country's land mass in the 11 frontline states of the North.
Against this disturbing scenario, the federal government has, over the years, adopted measures to mitigate the impact of this phenomenon.
Such measures include the annual tree planting ritual as well as provision of water points and social amenities to desert prone communities.
Even as government strives to mitigate the impact of desetification, the effort has not made much impact, even in the face of the threat of climate change.
Besides desertification in the North, many areas in the Southern part of the country, especially in the South-East, are ravaged by erosion.
Efforts to check the Agulu Nanka erosion menace in Anambra have not yielded much success.
This is also the case in most erosion prone parts of the country.
The erection of concrete barriers and the channelisation of water courses to check erosion have not helped matters.
It is against this background that experts suggest the adoption of natural measures such as the cultivation of special plants on degraded soils as the most adaptable measure to contain the menace.
One plant that comes to mind, according to experts, is Jatropha, ''the wonder plant''.
Mr Ibrahim Adebayo, the Desk Officer on Jatropha, Federal Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, says that because of its drought resistance characteristics, the plant can be used to reclaim degraded lands.
''Since the plant is resistant to drought, it can be used for the reclamation of arid and degraded areas,'' he says.
But what is Jatropha and what makes it a wonder plant?
Jatropha curcas is a perennial small tree or shrub that grows barely above four feet at full maturity.
It has a smooth, grey epidermis; and brings out whitish, coloured and watery latex when cut.
It is a tropical and semi-tropical plant that grows in low to high rainfall areas as well as on marginal or poor soils.
Experts say the plant is capable of growing almost everywhere, including gravelly, sandy or saline soils. Its water requirement is extremely low.
''Because of the rugged nature of the plant, it can survive with minimum input, and is very easy to propagate,'' Adebayo says.
Jatropha is best recognised for its seeds which contain about 37 per cent of oil.
The seed matures when the plant's capsule changes from green to yellow within two to four months of fertilisation.
''The oil is similar to diesel and kerosene in properties, and can serve as a substitute for fuel wood,'' Adebayo adds.
According to him, the plant can be used as fuel wood, as it burns with clear smoke-free flame, hence it is renewable, bio-degradable and environmentally friendly.
More interesting is the fact that Jatropha oil is capable of serving as lubricant for the piston of an automobile engine.
Adebayo says that another by-product derivable from the seed is pressed cake, which can be used as organic fertiliser and for the production of insecticides.
But is Jatropha indigenous to Nigeria?
Adebayo says Jatropha grows wild in the country and is easy to establish.
''It has also the potency to grow quickly and can live and produce seeds for 40 years,'' he says.
The plant, the desk officer says, can withstand long periods of drought, thus making it ideal for preventing soil erosion which has negative effects in most parts of the country.
''It can also be used to control desertification, which is a major threat to the arid lands of the North.''
But how much attention is paid to this ''wonder plant'' by the federal government as part of measures to contain the impact of soil degradation.
According to Adebayo, the Housing and Environment Ministry will soon fashion out a policy on the cultivation of Jatropha.
He says when established, the policy will spell out guidelines on how investors in Jatropha can cultivate and establish its plantations.
As a first step to popularising the cultivation and utilisation of Jatropha, Adebayo calls for the setting up of nurseries for the development of the plant.
He says this will ensure successful plantation or cultivation of the plant as well as provide quick returns on investment.
Adebayo says the nurseries, when developed, will be supplied to farmers in communities prone to erosion and desertification.
He says that a Jatropha nursery can produce 20,000 plants annually, and over a period of three years the nursey is capable of producing 60,000 plants sufficient to cover 2,000 hectares.
''Jatropha is not an edible crop, hence we do not want it to compete with other agricultural produce,'' he says.
Besides its environmental application, Jatropha is said to have a lot of medicinal value as the seeds can be used as bio-diesel and glycerin.
''This is the main reason why developed countries are embarking on large-scale cultivation of Jatropha,'' Adebayo says.
Jatropha is largely cultivated in some developed countries, including Japan , while China is said to have invested heavily in it.
In Africa, Jatropha is widely planted in Sudan and Kenya .
As the nation grapples with the problems of soil degradation, analysts suggest that attention be paid to the cultivation of Jatropha as part of measures to combat this phenomenon.
Besides, they say that its wide cultivation may open a new frontier for economic empowerment of the rural poor toward meeting the objective of Vision 20:2020 and the Millennium Development Goals. (NAN)
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