My stories about jatropha have moved at last at Time.com and NPR.
One thing that really struck me about this story was the sheer number of con-men who have sought to perpetrate the jatropha hype. I'm not really sure what can be done about it. Companies in the United States and Britain (notably D1 Oils) promote jatropha based on dubious science. You then have a bunch of men and women in Kenya and places like it who read the hype on the Internet and then persuade farmers to buy seeds at exorbitant prices by wooing them with impossible fantasies.
When I think about this stuff, I keep coming back to the amazing farmers who plant jatropha. I was so impressed by their knowledge of the land and their adaptability. They are always willing to try new things (in other words, innovate), and refuse to be cast as victims when they realize they have been scammed. Many I spoke to plan to keep jatropha around for a while, and if it really doesn't bring them any money in the long run, they'll pull it up and try something else.
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