Bedford Biofuels was a green energy company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. The company intended to produce biodiesel from Jatropha curcas grown on plantations in eastern Kenya, where it planted its first crop in October 2011 after receiving a positive environmental impact assessment from Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).Bedford Biofuels to develop 395,000 acres of jatropha in Kenya
Initially leasing land in 2009, in 2011, the company began planting on the leased land in Kenya. Citing difficulties working with Kenyan authorities and locals in the Tana River District where the project was based, by 2012 the project was severely delayed as quoted by the CEO, David McClure.
Bedford activities in Kenya
Jatropha has gained popularity among smallholder farmers due to good prices offered in the market. Bedford’s intentions in eastern Kenya were to plant Jatropha trees on underutilized land, and intercrop with food crop for residents of surrounding communities. http://doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/7729.pdf