The UN FAO advocates the use of Jatropha for producing biodiesel and has stated that the crop can help farmers improve their financial condition in dry areas. "Using the energy crop Jatropha for biodiesel production could benefit poor farmers, particularly in semiarid and remote areas of developing countries,” said a report published by the UN FAO and IFAD (http://www. fao. org/news/story/en/ item/44142/icode/). J. curcas grows reasonably well in dry areas and also on degraded soils that are marginally suited for agriculture, the report said. It also said that Jatropha seeds can be processed into biodiesel, which is less polluting than fossil diesel, and can be used for lighting lamps and as cooking fuel by the poor. "Particularly small-holder farmers, oil mill out-growers and members of community plantation schemes or workers on private-enterprise can earn an income from Jatropha production,” it added. The report indicated that cultivation of Jatropha would be beneficial to women as cooking stoves that run on Jatropha oil is healthier and creates less pollution than stoves that run on traditional biomass fuel. In addition, it would also save women the need to gather fuel wood. "The lower use of fuel wood also relieve pressure on forest resources,” it added. How­ever, the report pointed out that Jatropha is still essentially a wild plant and it required investments for developing into a commercial crop. "Jatropha could eventually evolve into a high-yielding crop and may well be productive on degraded and saline soils in low rainfall areas.”

3.8