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