11th Sep 2006 10:22
D1 Oils Plc11 September 2006 D1 Oils Signs Jatropha Planting MOU with Government of Swaziland 11 September, 2006 D1 Oils Swaziland (D1) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with theGovernment of the Kingdom of Swaziland for the planting of Jatropha curcas on20,000 hectares of land. Planting will take place in the Middleveld and Lowveldregions of the country and will begin this month. It is intended under the MOUto increase future planting operations to cover up to 50,000 hectares. Inaddition, D1 has signed a further MOU with World Vision, a leading SwaziNon-Governmental Organisation (NGO), to plant an additional 3,000 hectares withjatropha. Planting under both agreements will be carried out by contractfarming. D1 will provide technical advice and seeds for planting and enter intoofftake agreements with farmers to purchase the harvested seed. Planting isexpected to be conducted over the next three years. D1 has operated in Swaziland since 2005 and currently has around 400 hectares ofjatropha planted in the Croydon and Hluti areas. D1 has a jatropha nursery inHluti to produce seedlings required for planting. The company plans to establishits African Regional Development Centre (RDC) for research into the cultivationof jatropha in Hluti. Elliott Mannis, Chief Executive Officer of D1 Oils plc, said, "These agreementsdemonstrate both our ability to expand our agronomy operations in SouthernAfrica and the depth of support we are receiving from the Government of theKingdom of Swaziland to build a sustainable jatropha-based biodiesel industry.We believe that rural communities in Swaziland stand to benefit significantlyfrom the increase in rural employment that we are facilitating through theplanting of jatropha as an energy crop. Our operations have already created over200 jobs in communities that previously depended on subsistence farming and weexpect planting to create thousands of jobs in the long term." Contacts D1 Oils: Graham Prince, Head of Corporate CommunicationsTel: +44 (0) 1642 755580Mobile: +44 (0) 7973 323840 Brunswick Group:Kevin Byram / Mark AntelmeTel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 Notes to Editors D1 Oils Swaziland is a 50:50 joint venture between D1 Oils Trading Limited (awholly owned subsidiary of D1 Oils plc) in the UK and the Ning Group ofSwaziland. D1 Oils plc is a UK-based global producer of biodiesel. We are building a globalsupply chain and network that is sustainable and delivers value from 'earth-to-engine'. Our operations cover agronomy, refining and trading. We arepioneering the science, planting and production of inedible vegetable oils; wedesign, build, own, operate and market biodiesel refineries; and we source,transport and trade seeds and seedlings, seedcake, crude vegetable oils andbiodiesel. Our vision is to be the world's leading biodiesel business. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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