Economic valuation of potential products from Jatropha seed in five selected countries: Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mali, Indonesia, and The Netherlands

Abstract

Currently, Jatropha seeds are mainly used to produce biodiesel, and a resultant press cake is obtained as a by-product. Jatropha press cake fractionation and conversion into various potential products using biorefinery, could improve the economic value of Jatropha seed. The objectives of this study were to calculate the potential generated income and economic value of products from Jatropha. These were classified into two product groups: 1) Rural products, and 2) Industrial products. The potential generated income is the summation of the net profit and the labour costs. Using the national gross domestic product (GDP) per capita as a reference, we calculated and compared the potential economic value, which expresses the number of people that could obtain a certain income for every hectare of Jatropha plantation, in five selected countries. These countries consisted of four developing countries: Tanzania, Mali, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia, and a developed country, the Netherlands. This study shows that the potential generated income from rural products per hectare of (imported) Jatropha was much lower than the income of one person in Indonesia and the Netherlands. In Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Mali, the potential economic value per hectare Jatropha suggests that manufacturing rural products can generate potential income for one person. Manufacturing industrial products can generate potential income for one person in the Netherlands and approx. 7–39 people in Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Mali. In conclusion, the potential generated income is highly dependent on the GDP per capita and the price of the selected products in each country.