Socio-Economic Impacts of Jatropha Oil and Biodiesel in Mali

Abstract

The potential for oil and biodiesel from jatropha is of particular interest for Mali, as the country does not produce crude oil and the resources are currently devoted for the import of increasingly expensive and heavily subsidized fossil fuel products. In 2007, the government of Mali has adopted its National Strategy for the Development of Biofuels document (based on the National Energy Policy document and the Renewable Energy Strategy document) with the objective of replacing 20 % of diesel oil consumption with jatropha oil and biodiesel by 2022. This has led to the establishment of the National Agency for Biofuel Development (ANADEB) in 2009, in order to facilitate the implementation of the strategy and the elaboration of legislative rules. Several initiatives have been implemented by various actors in Mali to use jatropha oil and biodiesel for rural electrification and the transport sector. However, the contribution to the national energy supply is still very low. Meanwhile, jatropha oil and biodiesel have been heavily criticized for negatively impacting smallholder farmers in terms of food security and from being subjected to land grabbing from large corporate investors. In addition, criticism is related to the claimed reduced carbon emissions and to the economic feasibility and viability of jatropha oil and biodiesel production. This study will therefore highlight the opportunities and risks that jatropha oil and biodiesel present for a country like Mali in greening its economy, creating rural employment (both farm and nonfarm) and creating additional income. This is done by analyzing two different models of value chains, including a decentralized short jatropha value chain and a centralized long jatropha value chain. Both presented models involve smallholder farmers. The study therefore aims to contribute to increase knowledge of the literature pertaining to the socioeconomic impacts of jatropha oil and biodiesel value chains.