Two community forests of Kanchanpur district have started growing Jatropha (Sajeevan) from which biofuel can be produced.
Basanta Community Forest and Sri Krishna Community Forest are into sajeevan farming with the technical and financial assistance of Crystal Bio Energy Nepal Ltd. Scientific studies have shown that sajeevan oil can be used to operate diesel engine such as tractor, mill and cooking stove.
Both the community forests have planted more than 30,000 plants of sajeevan on around 10,000 hectares. It is said that Jatropha seeds contain 30 percent oil that can be processed to produce a high-quality biodiesel fuel, usable in a standard diesel engine.
Nar Bahadur Rana Magar, field surveyor of Bio Energy, said jatropha farming is being done to make the country self-reliant on diesel within the next 10 years and raise income of local people. He said sajeevan plantation will be ready for harvest after one year.
According to Magar, the company is thinking to install a processing plant in the community forests and start commercial business of diesel.
It is also said that Sajeevan is found widely in more than 70 districts in the country. In many places, jatropha seeds are going to waste as local people are not aware of its benefits and applications.
