These factors include:

• Significant availability of suitable land which is currently uncultivated and the ability to obtain such land at attractive terms under long-term leases or licenses issued by the government. In some of the available locations it would also be possible to intercrop or rotate jatropha with other cash crops.


• The climate is tropical with high humidity year round providing optimal climatic conditions for cultivation of Jatropha.


• Unlike some countries where jatropha is being promoted, Indonesia has long tradition of plantation development. It is the world’s biggest producer of CPO and also has vast acreage under rubber, cacao, tea, etc. Some foreign plantation companies such as Sucfindo and Lonsum have been operating here profitably for over a hundred years.


• Indonesia has exceptionally low labor costs and high unemployment levels especially in rural agricultural areas.

• The Research and Development Center for Estate Crops located in Bogor, Java is considered one of the best in the world. It has a pilot jatropha plantation project where they have collected and propagated plants from throughout the Archipelago in order to develop better quality seedlings. They have volunteered their technical support and expertise to our project.


• The recent global financial turmoil has caused a strengthening of the reserve currencies against many emerging market currencies including the Indonesian rupiah. This lowers the current cost of investment in dollar terms for foreign investors, which especially favors ventures with a longer term investment horizon.