PNOC unit eyes jatropha deal with Samar group

TACLOBAN CITY — The Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) is planning to craft a supply agreement with a people’s organization that has been propagating jatropha in the town of Basey in Samar. Renato Velasco, PNOC-AFC chairman, said the firm has a P1-billion fund to buy jatropha seeds from the Baktas Kabubuwason Rural Workers Association for the next five to 10 years. "If the group is able to plant 5,000 hectares of jatropha and there is assurance of sustainability of supply, then the PNOC-AFC can set up a buying center in the municipality. In fact, we now have a ready P1-billion fund to easily buy jatropha seeds if already available. All they have to do is develop their farms," Mr. Velasco said on the sidelines of the group’s general assembly over the weekend. He added that PNOC-AFC is planning to put up a jatropha nursery in the Visayas and Basey is a strong candidate to become the project site. The company has two jatropha nurseries in Luzon. The group has been propagating jatropha in over 70 hectares in 32 barangays in Basey for almost two years now. The organization is multisectoral, with members coming from the academe, the local government, residents, and even the military. "We’d like to continue their initiative and develop it further because we believe that the organization has all it takes for a good partner in propagating jatropha in this part of the country. We are a big company and we certainly need organized groups with technical capability and a huge available area for plantation of jatropha," Mr. Velasco said. Once the agreement is forged, Mr. Velasco said the company will also provide free technical assistance to the group to guide it on the specific variety that should be propagated. The PNOC-AFC has identified six to seven varieties that are high-yielding, he added. There are around 300 jatropha varieties in the Philippines and over 1,500 varieties throughout the world. "We want them to propagate the right kind of species because our company is following certain specific standards especially with regard to the oil content requirement, seed yield, its behavior in different habitats, and others," Mr. Velasco said. PNOC-AFC has forged partnerships with various groups in six provinces in the country with respect to jatropha propagation. The local government of Basey has pledged to plant jatropha in at least 5,000 hectares. Basey has 51 villages and 32 of these already host jatropha farms cultivated by the 212 farmer-members of Baktas Kabubuwason. The group started the project in 12 barangays in June 2007. — Lemuel L. Pagliawan, BusinessWorld