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Abstract
Jatropha projects have been set up worldwide as solution to reduce competition
between food and biofuel production. Jatropha is mostly produced on marginal land in
developing countries and production is labour-intensive. The subject of this study is an
existing Jatropha plantation in central Madagascar. The aims are to assess whether
large-scale Jatropha plantations offer sufficient income possibilities to contribute to
poverty alleviation and food security. The results show that incomes and food security
improved in 2008 due to income generated on the plantation, but deteriorated between
2008 and 2010 mostly due to a decline in agricultural yields for climatic reasons. We
find weak evidence that households working for the plantation experienced less
reduction in incomes and expenditures than control households. The majority of
households did not reduce agricultural production; plantation workers are mostly
poorer farmers who need an additional income source.