Jatropha curcas L. and multifunctional platforms for the development of rural sub-Saharan Africa

There is a great need to provide energy to rural Africans in order to spark development and help to alleviate poverty. Although Jatropha curcas L. is no longer considered to be a miracle crop, and large scale Jatropha biofuel programs have struggled, Jatropha still has potential to be successfully used in small scale development projects. To this end, there has been a great deal of interest in Jatropha and studies have shown the potential of Jatropha to be used with multifunctional platforms (MFPs) to provide energy to rural sub-Saharan Africa. This is a review paper which examines research on the various aspects of using Jatropha and MFPs to provide energy to rural Africans. Neat Jatropha can be used as a fuel for the type of simple diesel engines used in MFPs. Jatropha oil can also be converted to biodiesel through esterification and/or transesterification. The Jatropha plant can be used in many other ways and its utility increases the value it can bring to a village. There are challenges to increase the use of Jatropha, and among the greater difficulties are land issues (a Jatropha plantation to provide enough oil to power an MFP for a rural village would probably require about 8 ha after 5 years of growth). Despite the challenges, Jatropha has been successfully used in some development projects and merits further research.