Vision and sustainability
People
Through this business venture thousands of farmers in West Africa will be able to improve their living standards in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. Men and women who live and farm under difficult climatic conditions, and far from commodity markets, obtain an additional income by planting Jatropha and harvesting the nuts.
Besides the extra income generated from jatropha nut production, this initiative generates employment and spin-off economic activities, including:
1. Direct employment for more than 150 people and indirect employment for more than 8000 farmers, impacting more than 80,000 people
2. A state-of-the-art biodiesel processing unit in Koulikoro, Mali and Burkina Faso
3. Oil extraction from jatropha nuts near the harvesting site and transporting it by truck to the factory for refining, factory work and end-product distribution
4. Transforming the press cake into biogas that locally produces electricity and sells the ‘liquid fertilizer’, a by-product from digestion, to farmers for use as organic fertilizer
5. A local women’s cooperative produces soap from glycerin, which is a by-product from biodiesel production
6. The development of small independent jatropha tree nurseries, selling the plants to farmers for intercropping or replanting jatropha hedges
Planet
MBSA is a considered response to the worldwide trend to convert biomass into fuel. Compared to fossil fuels, biofuels are better for the environment, but only if they are sustainably produced. This initiative is about generating biofuels from plants that are harvested on kilometres of land stretching along the roadside – or by integrating Jatropha in existing farming systems meanwhile ensuring food security.
Jatropha intercropping helps farmers to enter into more sustainable agroforestry system. It reduces soil erosion and increases yields of food crops with up to 20% over a 5-year period.
Jatropha plants reduce CO2 emissions and this contributes to reducing climate change. MBSA works with various partners on a pro-poor carbon offset program.
Profit
MBSA sells biodiesel at a lower price than imported fossil fuel, which is also benefitting consumers.
Farmers benefit directly from the extra income they generate through the sale of the nuts they harvest. The additional income for smallholders is estimated at 1250 FCFA/day (€1,90/day) compared to current alternative sources of income of maximum €1,15/day.
In addition, the farmers’ union, l’Union locale des Sociétés Coopératives de Producteurs de Pourghère (ULSPP), which represents the jatropha farmers, has a 20% stake in Koulikoro Biocarburant SA and will therefore benefit from profits (dividends) and growth in share value.