A memorandum of understanding covering the transfer of 15,000 hectares of land for the cultivation of jatropha and castor for biofuel feedstock has been signed by Ardent Energy and the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The 15,000 hectares outlined in the MoU is in the Metekel Zone, Gublak District within Benshangul Gumuz in western Ethiopia. The MOU establishes a 50-year lease on the land for AEG, and includes permission to operate an oil crushing plant and biodiesel processing facility.
“We started with the idea that in order to make biodiesel cost-effective we had to control the source of the oil and that became our “farm to fuel” strategy that begins with the securing of land for cultivation,” said Y. Daniel Gezahegne, founder and CEO of Ardent Energy Group. “By growing our crop in Ethiopia and distributing our fuel throughout the world, we are able to create jobs while creating a business that helps wean the world from petroleum-based fuels.”
Jatropha and castor were selected as the first source of oil, says the company, due to the resiliency of the plant, its ability to grow in marginal soil conditions and the extremely high-yield of oil to hectare as compared to other crops such as soybean. The ability of jatropha to thrive in harsh climates is also favorable, as the plant will not be competing with land that could otherwise be used for food production.