The PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corp (PNOC-AFC) was offered 600 hectares of idle land by the Municipal Province of Rizal for potential development of a Jatropha Curcas Plantation. PNOC-AFC is now looking into the area to check whether it is indeed viable for planting.
The Local Government of Rizal did this in hopes of creating jobs for their constituents. PNOC-AFC also reiterated that they will not encourage farmers to convert land used for food production to switch to biofuel feedstock production.
Currently PNOC-AFC has already planted idle military lands in Nueva Ecija with jatropha curcas to be eventually used as automotive biodiesel feedstock. They have already established the biggest jatropha nursery and a pilot plantation (787 ha.) in Cagayan de Oro. They have also recently signed a MOA with the province of Quezon and the Land Bank of the Philippines for the development of a 100,000 hectare Jatropha plantation in the said province.
[source]
Category: Biodiesel, Jatropha
