Jatropha

Jatropha curcas is an oleaginous, shrub-like plant, with adaptability to degraded, eroded, and semiarid soils with very low nutrient content.

Jatropha curcas seeds are used to fight desertification and to renovate impoverished soils. They yield around 40% of oil content, which can be processed and turned into biodiesel.

These seeds are toxic, and they produce a non edible oil, so their price is not subjected to variations in the prices of grains for human or animal consumption. Other by-products can also be obtained for combustion, fertilizers, insecticides, medicinal uses, etc.