Govt to cultivate 'jarak pagar' plant

Govt to cultivate 'jarak pagar' plant

KEDIRI, East Java: The Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources and the Ministry of Forestry are cooperating in
developing farming land for the cultivation of jarak pagar
(castor-oil plant) as a raw material alternative to produce
biodiesel fuel.

Indarti, the village energy sub-directorate head at the
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said here on Saturday
that the bio-diesel currently circulating on the market is
produced from crude palm oil as a raw material, the price of
which is relatively expensive.

Biodiesel is sold for between Rp 3,500 (US$0.35) and Rp 4,000
per liter but the price is still lower than that of unsubsidized
diesel fuel costing up to Rp 7,000 per liter.

"However, if we use jarak pagar (jatropha curcas L) as raw
material for biodiesel production, the price will be much lower
than that of CPO-made biodiesel," Indarti said.

The government is promoting alternative fuel among the public
amid the skyrocketing prices of fuels in the future. It plans to
raise the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel in October for the
second time this year. --Antara