Nigeria needs 2.4 million litres of
biodiesel daily to successfully implement the Paris Agreement on Climate
Change, the Jatropha Growers, Processors and Exporters Association of
Nigeria has said.
The National President of JaGPEAN,
retired Maj. Gen. J. Omosebi, stated this at the second interactive
meeting of the national and state executives of the association in
Abuja.
Omosebi said this had underscored the
need for massive domestic production of Jatropha plant, which is a rich
source of biodiesel, to meet the required feedstock to implement the
agreement.
He explained that the association had
plans by to mobilise farmers to cultivate 100,000 hectares of Jatropha
farm nationwide in 2017, and 2.5 million hectares within the next five
years.
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the climate change agreement on behalf of the country in New York in September.
Buhari had expressed the country’s commitment to cut Green House gas emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent by 2020.
To achieve this objective, the country
is expected to blend 20 per cent of biofuel into every litre of diesel
and petrol to be consumed in the country before the deadline.
Already, the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources has started reviewing and updating the country’s Biofuel
Policy to boost local production and uptake of the critical product.
This, according to the JaGPEAN national
president, is a huge business opportunity for players in the Jatropha
value-chain, especially farmers.
He said, “Currently, about 12 million litres of diesel are consumed daily in Nigeria.
“Blending with the stipulated 20 per
cent biofuel means that the country needs 2.4 million litres of
biodiesel daily or 876 million litres annually to successfully implement
the agreement.
“Currently, the data of available
Jatropha oil in the country is very insignificant compared with the
quantity required for this policy.
“Therefore, there is need for massive cultivation of Jatropha to meet the required feedstock to implement the policy.”
The JaGPEAN national president said it
was important for the association to support the Federal Government ‘s
Biofuel Policy because it was favourable to the farmers.
He commended the government for
accommodating the interests of the association’s members in the policy
review, which they had been praying for over the years.
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