the jatropha trap

The report challenges the narrative that jatropha is a 'miracle crop' for Mozambique, finding that it requires fertile land and significant water, is vulnerable to pests that can spread to food crops, and often leads to land grabbing and economic instability for subsistence farmers.

• The claim that jatropha grows well on marginal land with high yields on poor soils is unsupported by evidence in Mozambique; instead, plantations have been established on arable land using fertilizers and pesticides, yet still fail to meet promised growth rates.
• Jatropha requires significant water and maintenance, contrary to claims of low water use. Irrigation is essential during early development, and in the southern region, constant irrigation is often required.
• Jatropha is highly vulnerable to fungi, viruses, and insect pests. There is evidence that these pests are spreading from jatropha to essential food crops such as sorghum, maize, and peanuts.
• The promotion of jatropha threatens food security because subsistence farmers, who produce 75% of the food they consume, are planting it in place of food crops on their limited arable land.
• The Mozambican government's drive for jatropha production facilitates 'land grabs' through the manipulation of the 1997 Land Law and the bribery of community leaders to obtain consent without transparent consultation.
• Industrial jatropha projects have struggled with slow growth rates and financial instability. For example, ESV Bio Africa faced a financial crisis due to lower-than-predicted outputs and high costs, leading to unpaid salaries for workers for nine months.
• The National Policy and Strategy for Biofuels lacked transparency and excluded civil society, failing to address the needs of the subsistence farming sector or the negative impacts of agrofuels on climate change.
• Large-scale jatropha production threatens Mozambique's carbon footprint by replacing natural vegetation and forests, which serve as critical carbon sinks.

APA

Ribeiro, D., & Matavel, N. (2010). the jatropha trap. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/19-foei-jatropha-eng-lr.pdf

Chicago

Ribeiro, Daniel, and Nilza Matavel. the jatropha trap. Friends of the Earth International, 2010. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/19-foei-jatropha-eng-lr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ribeiro |first1=Daniel |last2=Matavel |first2=Nilza |title=the jatropha trap |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=September 2010 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/19-foei-jatropha-eng-lr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ribeiro2010jatropha, author = {Ribeiro, Daniel and Matavel, Nilza}, title = {{the jatropha trap}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2010}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/19-foei-jatropha-eng-lr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }