Jatropha in Ghana: right or wrong?

By Rudolf ten Hoedt

In many African countries, agricultural land is a hot commodity. Now foreign players are getting involved, touching down in countries such as Zambia, Sudan and Ethiopia to grow crops for biofuel. In Ghana, where increasing amounts of jatropha are grown to produce biofuel for the European market, the foreign investors’ lack of familiarity with local customs and systems of land rights have stoked tensions with the indigenous population. Some western producers have fallen into the trap of making deals with irresponsible chiefs. Others try to do things right, but are taken advantage of by corrupt authorities or NGOs.

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