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By Conrad M. Cariño, Senior
Desk Editor
Coconut and malunggay—among the
biofuel crops that are environment-friendly and do not compete
directly with food sources—are the “champions.”
While coconut can be considered
the perennial champion as a biofuel source, malunggay can emerge as
the new champ.
The country today has more than
324 million coconut trees planted in more than three million
hectares of lands, with 16 million more to be planted in the next
one to three years under the ambitious planting program of the
Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
A coconut tree, two to three
years after being planted, can produce nuts for a maximum of 50
years. And with advances in the development of high-yielding breeds
and the discovery that salt can increase nut yields, propagating
coconut for biofuel production can be very feasible for the country
and profitable for farmers and growers.
The wonder is that coconut is not
“choosy” for it for it can be planted in almost any type of
soil, including the sandy soils of seashores where vegetables and
corn cannot be grown.
Proven history of coconut oil
The use of coconut as biofuel or
burning oil has also been well established in the Philippines, even
before scientific studies were done.
Philippine Coconut Authority
documents show that the use of coconut oil in household lamps dates
back to the Spanish era.
During the Japanese occupation,
coconut oil-powered tractors and bulldozers were used to build
airfields. With the low supply of diesel, some rice mills had to
used coconut oil.
The authority strongly campaigned
for the wider use of coconut oil as diesel substitute or additive
many years before the enactment of the Biofuels Act of 2006.
In 1977, the authority in
cooperation with the University of the Philippines tested with
success the use of 100-percent coconut oil on a jeepney with a
diesel engine.
And in 1982, coconut oil as
100-percent fuel or mixed with diesel was tested successfully on
buses operated by the Metro Manila Transit Corp. and Pantranco.
Tests done on trains of the Philippine National Railways, the
stationary power plants of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and
the trucks and boats of the Philippine Navy were all also
successful.
The government in 1982 was about
to start, but desisted for some reason, using cocodiesel in some of
the Napocor stationary power plants.
Nonetheless, interest in the use
of coconut oil as the substitute for diesel or an additive never
waned. Chemrez, a company that manufactures a biofuel additive that
can be used also as a 100-percent replacement for diesel, has been
exporting its products to Japan and foreign markets. It is promoting
its coconut oil to motorists with diesel-powered vehicles. It
continues to be at the forefront of biodiesel development.
Not only will the use of coconut
oil as biofuel benefit the environment—it will also provide an
alternative market for poor coconut farmers whose copra is now
mostly bought for food processing, cosmetic and pharmaceutical
purposes.
“The wider use of coconut oil
as biofuel will stabilize or improve the price of copra because the
demand for it [copra] will grow. That will give the poor coconut
farmers better earnings,” a farmer member of the Farmer Sectoral
Council, who asked not to be named, told The Manila Times. That
council is a consultative body made up of representatives from the
farming sector and part of the National Anti-Poverty Council.
To spur higher production, the
Philippine Coconut Authority is urging coconut farmers to use common
table salt to significantly increase yields—by as much as 20
percent.
The coconut tree is a marvel. Its
other parts are also useful, particularly its inflorescence, from
where the cocosap is extracted. Cocosap can be processed into
cocosugar (which commands a high price in the US because it is safe
for diabetics), vinegar and cocohoney.
The fiber from the coconut husk
can be processed into geo-textiles (which is used to check
corrosion) that are in high demand in China and other countries.
New biofuel champion
Like coconut, malunggay is not
“choosy” about the type of soil it can grow in. And like the
coconut tree, malunggay can be productive for up to 50 years from
the time it starts producing pods.
The most useful parts of
malunggay are the leaves and pods. The leaves, a popular vegetable,
can also be made into tea and fortifier for animal and human feeds.
The leaves are rich in vitamins and minerals. Doctors recommend it
particularly to lactating mothers.
The oil is extracted from the
pods. Malunggay oil has applications in food processing,
pharmaceutical and cosmetics.
Early this year, a team of
Masters of Business Administration students from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) recommended the massive cultivation of
malunggay (scientific name moringa oleifera) in the Philippines for
biofuels.
The team studied the market
outlook for malunggay oil as part of their partial requirement for
the completion of the Global Entrepreneurship Laboratory Course
under the MIT’s Sloan School of Management in Boston. Their study
said the massive cultivation of malunggay for biofuels can generate
million of jobs and help alleviate poverty in rural areas in the
Philippines.
Studies done by the government
show that a 10-hectare malunggay farm can earn P2 million in
revenues during the first year, and from P3 to P4 million in the
next years as the plant starts to increase its yield of seeds.
It is also easier to propagate
malunggay compared to other crops. Scientists and farmers
interviewed by The Manila Times said planting a malunggay seed one
centimeter deep is all that is needed to start the plant growing.
Malunggay can also be planted
alongside other crops, because it does not rob the soil of
nutrients. And malunggay can thrive without the use of fertilizers
or pesticides, although there are technologies that can convert the
leaves of malunggay into organic fertilizer.
The humble tree can also be used
for reforestation along slopes that are not too steep, or even in
backyards where the soil is not conducive to planting traditional
crops.
While the coconut tree is called
“the tree of life” because of its many uses, malunggay is
popularly called the “miracle tree” for its versatility.
But with the findings of the MIT
students that malunggay oil can be used for biofuels, the humble
tree could even become “the millionaire’s tree.” 
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