"First of all, FACT agrees that many unsubstantiated claims have been made on jatropha, such as high yields on marginal soils, low water and nutrient requirements, and high resistance to pests and diseases. These claims have already been falsified some years ago

2 but it seems difficult to convince all practitioners and policy makers of the facts. Despite the slowly increasing body of knowledge on jatropha cultivation methods, the agronomy of the plant is still largely unknown, and the risks of disappointing yields are substantial.

Furthermore, the report describes how large biofuel companies have engaged in large scale jatropha cultivation in rural Mozambique, making promises to the local population that could not be kept because of disappointing yields and financial crisis. Sadly, this corresponds to FACT’s opinion that large scale jatropha production contributes little to economic development, is subject to large risks, and often leads to land ownership disputes and corruption".

There is slender balance between what has happend in Mozambique
and what will happen worldover if scientific methods are not followed.
I can tell that if a project is started with scientific understanding , proper analysis of agroclimatic conditions, proper seed material it is bound to succeed though it is difficult to predict accurately as Jatropha required good conditions for growth but stress conditions for fruiting. There is very thin balance. Out of 40 villages we selected we succeeded in 28 but what important lessons we got was from the villages where it was not economically viable This needs proper analysis and we shall be discussing it one by one .