Two years ago singer–songwriter and activist Bob Geldof was so excited about biofuels he even became the special advisor to biomass company Helius. At the time, Geldof visited jatropha curcas plantations in Swaziland run by UK biodiesel producer D1 Oils.
Geldof was quoted as saying that these plantations had ‘life changing potential’. Since then, D1 Oils dropped out and Mr Geldof silenced. HIV/AIDS victims in Swaziland were ‘targeted to plant jatropha and promised easy money’, said Adrian Bebb at Friends of the Earth International (FoE) in a telephone interview with Pambazuka News.
But jatropha was a cause supported by rhetoric and a science that neglected the socio-cultural impact. The perennial plant would produce inedible oil and any financial gain would depend entirely on the biodiesel plant operator, which pulled out. The crops planted in marginal lands were also unable to produce any sufficient yields. Those who worked the land were left empty-handed and considerably worse off.
