The SG Biofuels/RSB pilot is evaluating the practicality and usability of RSB sustainability standards applied against a 1,400 acre Jatropha community-farming model established by SG Biofuels in Guatemala.
Through the model, participating community farmers received free seedlings and monthly technical training from SG Biofuels. The company has also eliminated the harvest sale risk to the farmers by providing guaranteed purchase contracts of 100% of the production, SG Biofuels said.
Kirk Haney, president and CEO of SG Biofuels, said: “We’re committed to socially and environmentally responsible cultivation of Jatropha. Through our community-farming initiative and pilot with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, we’re working to establish a model system for the sustainable production of Jatropha that provides economic value to farmers while hedging out the harvest risk.
“The sustainability insights gained through the pilot will be critical as we deploy large-scale community-farming and plantation projects around the world.”
The project includes approximately 380 farmers in 25 distinct communities. Plantations were established without displacing food crops and on land that was considered marginalized and unsuitable for food crops.
