TRANS-ASIA OIL AND ENERGY Development Corp. has dropped its alternative fuels operations, citing the problems it encountered with its pilot jatropha project.

?We found out early in the game that there was a problem on the agriculture part of the jatropha project,? said Trans-Asia president and chief executive Francisco L. Viray.

Viray explained that contrary to reports, it was not true that jatropha was easy to grow as it would require huge volumes of water and needed to be tended to increase the yields to economically viable levels.

?It wasn?t true that you can leave it anywhere to grow, or plant it even on barren land. Yes, it will grow, but the yields would be low. So at the end of the day, planting jatropha has a lot of requirements,? he explained.

Trans-Asia used to have a four-hectare jatropha breeding farm in Calaca, Batangas, which would have jumpstarted its foray in the alternative fuels business following the enactment of the biofuels law.

The Philippines Biofuels Act of 2006 has firmed up the domestic demand for alternative fuels, creating vast opportunities for investment in the commercial propagation of biofuel crops or feedstock.

The law mandated the preblending of 2-percent coco methyl esther (CME) or coco biodesel in diesel-fed vehicles and 5 percent of ethanol in gasoline-fueled engines this year. Jatropha is one of the two approved feedstock for biodiesel.

Forecasts are that domestic demand for biodiesel will reach more than 200 million liters a year by 2015 based on the mandated diesel blend and will require 120,000 hectares of biofarming.