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Lands Commission cannot grant one million hectares for
bio-diesel
Accra, Jan 22, GNA - The National Lands Commission on Monday
said it was not in a position to grant one million hectares
of land for the cultivation of Jatropha plant for the
production of Bio-diesel.
Alhaji Hamidu Ibrahim Baryeh, the Executive Secretary, Lands
Commission, said there was the need to study soils that had
been put under cultivation to determine the soil fertility
after a period of cultivation before undertaking such a
venture.
This, he noted, was to ensure that farmers did not put their
lands under the cultivation of Jatropha at the expense of
food and other cash crops because of loss of land fertility
in the long run.
Alhaji Baryeh, who was speaking to the GNA in an interview,
said there was the need for further research on the plant
and therefore called on the proponents for its cultivation
on a large scale to seek approval from the Crops and Soil
Research Institute, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and
the Environmental Protection Agency before embarking on the
large scale cultivation.
He said, "Should the country see the need to embark on
commercial cultivation of the plant, there must be enough
information about all possible dangers associated with the
crop".
The Executive Secretary said contrary to the view of the
proponents, expert advice indicated that the crop did well
on marginal lands. He therefore advocated that the
cultivation of the plant be limited to marginal lands.
"Where large expanse of unproductive lands are available
especially in some parts of the transitional and Guinea
Savannah ecologies, its large-scale production should be
acceptable," he said, but added that communities interested
in the cultivation of the plant should be guided in the
selection of degraded lands for cultivation.
"Since the plant is already well known and cultivated in the
country, sensitisation could be done by the district
assemblies and farmers organizations," he said.
Alhaji Baryeh said the Commission was also concerned about
the fact that Ghana's consumption would constitute only 10
per cent of the total production when the project became
fully operational whilst the remaining 90 per cent would be
exported.
"Initial production should therefore be limited to at most
50 per cent of the land requirement of one million hectares
in order to determine the full effects of the cultivation of
the plant and the production of the bio-diesel," he said.
Mr Onua Amoa and some investors, after the discovery of the
potential for the conversion of Jatropha plant also known as
the Physic Nut into bio-diesel, had contacted the Lands
Commission to solicit assistance in acquiring vast parcels
of land for the project.
The proponents indicated that they needed a minimum of
1,100,000 hectares of land to put under cultivation in order
to feed the bio-diesel plant economically.
Research has showed that the Jatropha plant is a small tree
or large shrub, which grows up to a height of 6 metres. Like
many other Jatropha species, the physic nut is a succulent
plant that sheds its leaves during the dry season.
It is best adapted to arid and semi arid conditions and it
is drought resistant. It grows on well-drained soils with
good aeration.
The plant is well adapted to marginal soils with low
nutrient content, low rainfall where it grows without
competing with annual food crops and has a productive life
span of 40 to 50 years.
GNA
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