Kenya is looking to the jatropha tree as a way of reducing the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuels and developing a biofuel industry.

A clean-burning oil can be extracted from the jatropha tree's seeds, which can be immediately used to power generators or be refined into biodiesel. The trees can grow even in the driest and most nutrient-depleted soils, so it doesn’t have to take up arable land needed to grow food.

Faith Odongo, a senior official at Kenya's Ministry of Energy, says that about 5,000 hectares of land are being set aside for cultivation and expects that the plant could help the country “reduce fossil fuel imports by 5 percent in the next four years” and give farmers a viable crop to grow.

Whether jatropha is a viable alternative to fossil fuels is debatable. But Continental Airlines powered a Boeing 737 for a two-hour test flight on jatropha oil mixed with algae and aviation fluid. The Los Angeles Times calls jatropha one of the "new generation of so-called sustainable biofuels that could help airlines cut fuel costs and reduce carbon emissions."

But there are drawbacks. One tree only produces two liters of fuel and the trees don't reach full maturity for four to five years.

Yet these drawbacks haven't stopped countries like India, which has set aside 100 million acres for jatropha trees and expects to use the yielded oil to "account for 20 percent of its diesel consumption by 2011," according to Time.

In this video, Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege explains how farmers in eastern Kenya are seeing their economic situation improve as a result of planting jatropha trees.

Photo: C Mulvany (flickr)

In the global rush towards biofuels, some countries are being forced to choose between affordable food and renewable energy. Many poor nations cannot afford to use staple crops like corn or soybeans as fuel. But some scientists and policymakers believe that they may have found a solution: jatropha.

Jatropha is an inedible nut that can be grown on non-arable land with little water or maintenance, and it's increasingly being identified as a possible alternative source for biofuels. Because its production would not take up valuable farmland, and would have little (if any) impact on food prices, jatropha is particularly attractive to developing countries seeking a balance between increasing energy demand and poverty alleviation.

India is currently trying to launch what would be the world’s largest jatropha biofuels project to date. Its Ministry of Rural Development has proposed a five-year, $375-million project to plant over one million acres of jatropha and research its potential as a fuel source. India is far from alone in its efforts to promote jatropha. Last year, British Petroleum signed a $160-million deal with a British biofuels firm to develop a joint venture in jatropha. A number of countries are pursuing their own jatropha projects, including South Africa, Malaysia, Brazil, Mali and others.