Jamaica Wants to Use Castor Oil to Produce Biodiesel

KINGSTON, Jamaica –Government says it is partnering with the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) to boost cultivation of the castor oil plant to produce biodiesel for the Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC).

Ricinus, the castor oil plant.Transport and Mining Minister, Robert Montague, said that the Ministry, which is also collaborating with famers will be moving to secure an estimated 5,000 acres of “unclaimed lands” to commence growing the castor plant.

Montague said that Jamaica has the capacity to manufacture and distribute castor oil on a large scale.

“We are moving with the JBI to institute a castor oil project. We have just signed off on a big deal with a company to supply the JUTC with biodiesel. [We subsequently] discovered that the mineral oil they use, the element they use is [actually] castor oil…that they actually import from India… and we can grow castor oil right here in Jamaica,” he noted.

“So, what we are moving to do is to plant up a lot of these reclaimed lands with castor oil, [process it] and sell it to this company… and the JBI will be leading that process to plant some 5,000 acres of castor oil,” he added.

He said that a deal has already been finalized with the Jamaica Castor Oil Growers Association to get production going and that local castor oil is in great demand worldwide, adding  “we have seen others” making products and branding them as Jamaican.

“We want to grow it here and we want to grow it with the small farmers in the entire Jamaica,” he added.