la trampa de la jatrofa

The report examines the jatropha biofuel industry in Mozambique, challenging the 'myths' that the crop grows well on marginal lands, requires minimal water, and is pest-resistant. It finds that both small-scale and industrial plantations typically occupy fertile arable land and often fail to meet promised yields. The document highlights risks to food security, as subsistence farmers replace food crops with jatropha, and reports widespread land grabbing facilitated by government corruption and the manipulation of the 1997 Land Law. It concludes that jatropha is not a viable development tool for Mozambique and recommends halting its support until food sovereignty is guaranteed.

• The claim that jatropha grows well on marginal lands with high yields in poor soils is unsupported by evidence in Mozambique; instead, most plantations occupy arable land and require fertilizers and insecticides, yet still fail to reach promised growth rates.
• Contrary to claims of low water requirements, irrigation is essential for healthy growth during early development, even in areas with annual rainfall between 800mm and 1,400mm.
• Jatropha is vulnerable to fungi, viruses, and insect pests, and there is evidence that these pests can spread to neighboring food crops such as sorghum, maize, and peanuts.
• The promotion of jatropha threatens food security because subsistence farmers, who produce 75% of the country's food, are substituting essential food crops for jatropha due to limited land and labor capacity.
• The 1997 Land Law has been manipulated by the government and investors to facilitate land grabbing, often through the bribery of community leaders (Regulos) and a lack of transparency in consultations.
• Industrial jatropha projects, such as those by Energem and ESV Bio Africa, have faced significant failures, including low germination rates, failure to meet seed production targets, and financial crises leading to unpaid wages.
• The National Biofuels Policy and Strategy, approved in March 2009, was developed without civil society participation and ignores the negative impacts of biofuels on climate change and food security.
• Large-scale jatropha production threatens Mozambique's carbon footprint by potentially replacing natural forests and woodlands, which cover approximately 70% of the country.

APA

Ribeiro, D., & Matavel, N. (2010). la trampa de la jatrofa. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/18-foei-jatropha-esp-lr.pdf

Chicago

Ribeiro, Daniel, and Nilza Matavel. la trampa de la jatrofa. Friends of the Earth International, 2010. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/18-foei-jatropha-esp-lr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ribeiro |first1=Daniel |last2=Matavel |first2=Nilza |title=la trampa de la jatrofa |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=September 2010 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/18-foei-jatropha-esp-lr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ribeiro2010trampa, author = {Ribeiro, Daniel and Matavel, Nilza}, title = {{la trampa de la jatrofa}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2010}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/18-foei-jatropha-esp-lr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }