A BIOFUEL producer has shifted into high gear as it seeks more expansion areas for production of jatropha curcas, locally called tuba-tuba, in General Santos City and Sarangani.

Marc V. Gulle, manager of Eco Global Bio-Oils Inc., said the company hopes to lure members of the B'laan and Tagakaolo tribes to plant jatropha in their 74,000-hectare freshly-titled ancestral lands in the town of Malungon.

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"[We are] proud to note that the company now has a plantation size of 11,349 hectares of jatropha and is bent to surpass [the] target," he said.

The company's initial target is the 100,000-hectare property in Malungon. It is planning to expand the area to 200,000 hectares in the next two years, with General Santos City as part of the expansion area.

Gulle said the firm's long range plan is to build a bio-diesel plant and intensifying jatropha plantation expansion will complement the plan.

In the recent visit of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to South Korea, she brought home investment commitments of as much as $175 million from Eco Solution Co Ltd for a jathropa plantation project in parts of Central Mindanao region.

Eco Global is an affiliate of Eco Solution.

Gulle said the firm has acquired 6.8 hectares for its jatropha oil extraction plant site in Barangay Bawing in General Santos City.

In her latest visit to Central Mindanao about two weeks ago, Arroyo noted the B’laan and Tagakaolo tribes' area in Malungon are among the best suitable locations in the region for the development of jatropha plantations.

This is the reason we pushed the fast processing of the certificate of ancestral domain titles of the tribes in Malungon, the President said.

"We want them to be a part of these positive developments," Arroyo said.

The President has personally awarded the CADTs of the B'laan and Tagakaolo tribes in Malungon, which covers a total area of 74,804 hectares.

The newly titled ancestral lands will benefit 52,110 B’laan and Tagakaolo tribal residents in the area.

Other expansion sites eyed by Eco Global in Sarangani for jatropha production include the towns of Alabel for 10,000 hectares and Maasim and Kiamba for a combined 16,000 hectares.

The company also hopes to develop at least 1,100 hectares ancestral lands in General Santos City as production areas for jatropha, a rich source of biodiesel.

The country has approved in January 2007 Republic Act (RA) 9367 or the Biofuels Act of 2006, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. (BSS)