IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ein/tuecis/1004.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Jatropha Biofuels Sector in Tanzania 2005-9: Evolution Towards Sustainability?

Author

Listed:
  • Marjolein C.J. Caniëls
  • Henny Romijn

Abstract

Biofuel production has recently attracted a great deal of attention. Some anticipate substantial social and environmental benefits, while at the same time expecting sound profitability for investors. Others are more doubtful, envisaging large trade-offs between the pursuit of social, environmental and economic objectives, particularly in poor countries in the tropics. The paper explores these issues in Tanzania, which is a forerunner in Africa in the cultivation of a bio-oil shrub called Jatropha curcas L. We trace how isolated Jatropha biofuel experiments developed since their inception in early 2005 towards a fully fledged sectoral production and innovation system; and investigate to what extent that system has been capable of developing ànd maintaining sustainable practices and producing sustainable outcomes. The application of evolutionary economic theory allows us to view the development processes in the sector as a result of evolutionary variation and selection on the one hand, and revolutionary contestation between different coalitions of stakeholders on the other. Both these processes constitute significant engines of change in the sector. While variation and selection is driven predominantly by localised learning, the conflict-driven dynamics are highly globalised. The sector is found to have moved some way towards a full sectoral innovation and production system, but it is impossible to predict whether a viable sector with a strong “triple bottom line” orientation will ultimate emerge, since many issues surrounding the social, environmental and financial sustainability still remain unresolved.

Suggested Citation

  • Marjolein C.J. Caniëls & Henny Romijn, 2010. "The Jatropha Biofuels Sector in Tanzania 2005-9: Evolution Towards Sustainability?," Working Papers 10-04, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies, revised Jun 2010.
    • Handle: RePEc:ein:tuecis:1004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nygaard, Ivan, 2010. "Institutional options for rural energy access: Exploring the concept of the multifunctional platform in West Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 1192-1201, February.
    2. Lall, Sanjaya, 1992. "Technological capabilities and industrialization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 165-186, February.
    3. Peters, Jörg & Thielmann, Sascha, 2008. "Promoting biofuels: Implications for developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1538-1544, April.
    4. van der Vleuten, Erik & Raven, Rob, 2006. "Lock-in and change: Distributed generation in Denmark in a long-term perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(18), pages 3739-3748, December.
    5. Ans Kolk & Jonatan Pinkse, 2008. "A perspective on multinational enterprises and climate change: Learning from “an inconvenient truth”?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(8), pages 1359-1378, December.
    6. Geels, Frank W., 2004. "From sectoral systems of innovation to socio-technical systems: Insights about dynamics and change from sociology and institutional theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6-7), pages 897-920, September.
    7. Rathmann, Régis & Szklo, Alexandre & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2010. "Land use competition for production of food and liquid biofuels: An analysis of the arguments in the current debate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 14-22.
    8. Martinot, E. & Cabraal, A. & Mathur, S., 2001. "World Bank/GEF solar home system projects: experiences and lessons learned 1993-2000," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 39-57, March.
    9. Unknown, 2008. "Institute of Agricultural Economics," Economics of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Economics, vol. 55(3).
    10. Sengers, F. & Raven, R.P.J.M. & Van Venrooij, A., 2010. "From riches to rags: Biofuels, media discourses, and resistance to sustainable energy technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 5013-5027, September.
    11. Daemon Fairless, 2007. "Biofuel: The little shrub that could - maybe," Nature, Nature, vol. 449(7163), pages 652-655, October.
    12. van Eijck, Janske & Romijn, Henny, 2008. "Prospects for Jatropha biofuels in Tanzania: An analysis with Strategic Niche Management," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 311-325, January.
    13. Raven, Rob, 2007. "Co-evolution of waste and electricity regimes: Multi-regime dynamics in the Netherlands (1969-2003)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 2197-2208, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elisa Portale, 2012. "Socio-Economic Sustainability of Biofuel Production in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from a Jatropha Outgrower Model in Rural Tanzania," CID Working Papers 56, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    2. David Ockwell & Robert Byrne & Joanes Atela & Victoria Chengo & Elsie Onsongo & Jacob Fodio Todd & Victoria Kasprowicz & Adrian Ely, 2021. "Transforming Access to Clean Energy Technologies in the Global South: Learning from Lighting Africa in Kenya," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-24, July.
    3. Jha, Pushkar. P. & Bhalla, Ajay, 2018. "Life of a PAI: Mediation by willingness and ability for beneficiary community engagement," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 27-34.
    4. Elsie Onsongo & Johan Schot, 2017. "Inclusive Innovation and Rapid Sociotechnical Transitions: The Case of Mobile Money in Kenya," SPRU Working Paper Series 2017-07, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    5. Castro Gonzáles, Nirza Fabiola, 2016. "International experiences with the cultivation of Jatropha curcas for biodiesel production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1245-1258.
    6. Avinash, A. & Subramaniam, D. & Murugesan, A., 2014. "Bio-diesel—A global scenario," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 517-527.
    7. Maja Slingerland & Marc Schut, 2014. "Jatropha Developments in Mozambique: Analysis of Structural Conditions Influencing Niche-Regime Interactions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-23, October.
    8. Anders Hansson & Mathias Fridahl & Simon Haikola & Pius Yanda & Noah Pauline & Edmund Mabhuye, 2020. "Preconditions for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Tanzania," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 6851-6875, October.
    9. Manning, Stephan & Reinecke, Juliane, 2016. "A modular governance architecture in-the-making: How transnational standard-setters govern sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 618-633.
    10. Paula Rolffs & David Ockwell & Rob Byrne, 2015. "Beyond technology and finance: pay-as-you-go sustainable energy access and theories of social change," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(12), pages 2609-2627, December.
    11. Hans Rawhouser & Michael Cummings & Scott L. Newbert, 2019. "Social Impact Measurement: Current Approaches and Future Directions for Social Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 82-115, January.
    12. Ahmed, Abubakari & Campion, Benjamin Betey & Gasparatos, Alexandros, 2017. "Biofuel development in Ghana: policies of expansion and drivers of failure in the jatropha sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 133-149.
    13. Michael Brüntrup & Fabian Schwarz & Thomas Absmayr & Jonas Dylla & Franziska Eckhard & Kerstin Remke & Konrad Sternisko, 2018. "Nucleus-outgrower schemes as an alternative to traditional smallholder agriculture in Tanzania – strengths, weaknesses and policy requirements," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 807-826, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Romijn, Henny A. & Caniëls, Marjolein C.J., 2011. "The Jatropha biofuels sector in Tanzania 2005-2009: Evolution towards sustainability?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 618-636, May.
    2. Markard, Jochen & Truffer, Bernhard, 2008. "Technological innovation systems and the multi-level perspective: Towards an integrated framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 596-615, May.
    3. Lee, Junmin & Kim, Keungoui & Kim, Jiyong & Hwang, Junseok, 2022. "The relationship between shared mobility and regulation in South Korea: A system dynamics approach from the socio-technical transitions perspective," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    4. Diermeier, Matthias & Schmidt, Torsten, 2014. "Oil price effects on land use competition: an empirical analysis," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17.
    5. Ishola, Mofoluwake M. & Brandberg, Tomas & Sanni, Sikiru A. & Taherzadeh, Mohammad J., 2013. "Biofuels in Nigeria: A critical and strategic evaluation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 554-560.
    6. Smink & Simona Negro & Marko Hekkert, 2014. "How mismatching institutional logics frustrate sustainability transitions," Innovation Studies Utrecht (ISU) working paper series 14-01, Utrecht University, Department of Innovation Studies, revised Jan 2014.
    7. Hagelskjær Lauridsen, Erik & Stissing Jensen, Jens, 2013. "The strictest energy requirements in the world: An analysis of the path dependencies of a self-proclaimed success," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 97-104.
    8. Iris Wanzenböck & Joeri H Wesseling & Koen Frenken & Marko P Hekkert & K Matthias Weber, 0. "A framework for mission-oriented innovation policy: Alternative pathways through the problem–solution space," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 47(4), pages 474-489.
    9. Ma, Hengyun & Oxley, Les & Gibson, John & Li, Wen, 2010. "A survey of China's renewable energy economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 438-445, January.
    10. Svensson, Oscar & Nikoleris, Alexandra, 2018. "Structure reconsidered: Towards new foundations of explanatory transitions theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 462-473.
    11. Hsien-Chen Lo & Ching-Yan Wu & Mei-Chih Hu, 2020. "Acting as an innovation niche seeder:how can the reverse salient of southeast Asian economies be overcome?," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 1195-1217, September.
    12. repec:zbw:rwirep:0340 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Wilson, P. & Glithero, N.J. & Ramsden, S.J., 2014. "Prospects for dedicated energy crop production and attitudes towards agricultural straw use: The case of livestock farmers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 101-110.
    14. Elisa Portale, 2012. "Socio-Economic Sustainability of Biofuel Production in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from a Jatropha Outgrower Model in Rural Tanzania," CID Working Papers 56, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    15. Sorrell, Steve, 2018. "Explaining sociotechnical transitions: A critical realist perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(7), pages 1267-1282.
    16. Mohr, Alison & Raman, Sujatha, 2013. "Lessons from first generation biofuels and implications for the sustainability appraisal of second generation biofuels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 114-122.
    17. Gordon, Joel A. & Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Nabavi, Seyed Ali, 2023. "Socio-technical barriers to domestic hydrogen futures: Repurposing pipelines, policies, and public perceptions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    18. Jørgensen, Ulrik, 2012. "Mapping and navigating transitions—The multi-level perspective compared with arenas of development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 996-1010.
    19. Smink, Magda & Negro, Simona O. & Niesten, Eva & Hekkert, Marko P., 2015. "How mismatching institutional logics hinder niche–regime interaction and how boundary spanners intervene," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 225-237.
    20. Matthias Diermeier & Torsten Schmidt, 2012. "Oil Price Effects on Land Use Competition – An Empirical Analysis," Ruhr Economic Papers 0340, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    21. Sutherland, Lee-Ann & Peter, Sarah & Zagata, Lukas, 2015. "Conceptualising multi-regime interactions: The role of the agriculture sector in renewable energy transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 1543-1554.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    biofuels; evolutionary theory; innovation systems; sustainability; stakeholder conflict; learning; Tanzania.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ein:tuecis:1004. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ectuenl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.