PNOC Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) recently signed an agreement for a JV with the Provincial Government of Quezon for a 100,000 hectare Jatropha plantation. Funding will be provided by the Land Bank of the Philippines to the tune of P4.3 Billion ($1=P42). The plan is to develop a jatropha nursery, processing plants and refineries. The land allocated was said to be marginal, therefore making it unsuitable for planting food crops.
Landbank will also extend loans to jatropha growers (cooperatives, individuals, orgs, SME’s and Corporations) identified by the Provincial government upon passing the banks credit lending guidelines. For growers who availed of the loan from Landbank, the PNOC-AFC will withhold and remit to the bank the portion of its payments for paying back the loan.
The provincial government shall also be the one to accredit seedling suppliers who will provide jatropha seedlings to the growers at an agreed price. I’m assuming that it will be the Provincial Agrarian Officer who will do this, but I was hoping that the PNOC-AFC will also help in this so as to guarantee the quality of the feedstock.
PNOC-AFC’s purpose in this is to purchase the seeds produced by growers at a guaranteed floor price subject to upward price adjustment as stipulated in the production, technical and marketing agreement with the growers.
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Category: Biodiesel, Jatropha
