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In 1975, the National Research Council published Products
from Jojoba: A Promising New Crop for Arid Lands, and in 1977, Jojoba:
Feasibility for Cultivation on Indian Reservations in the Sonoran Desert Region.
Both reports drew attention to a then barely known crop called jojoba.
The aim of this present report is to review the current status of the plant, which is now fast progressing from its wild state to commercial production of impressive magnitude. In particular, the intention is to highlight the uncertainties inherent in growing and selling a new farm product. This is not to dampen enthusiasm for a crop that has truly exciting promise, but to point out unresolved questions, so that farmers and investors can appreciate the economic risks and researchers can determine where their knowledge and talents can best be applied.
It is now clear that this wild desert plant can be commercially cultivated. On sites where it is adapted, it will flower, and it will set its seed in plantations. But survival is not enough; the plants must produce yields that can be harvested and sold at a profit. This is where the uncertainty lies.
Even in commerce, however, jojoba has made a promising start. Since 1982, mounting numbers of farmers in Arizona, California, Israel, and northern Mexico have obtained commercial harvests of seed. Moreover, a number of brokers and small companies have sold increasing amounts of jojoba oil harvested from both wild stands and plantations. Present world production of jojoba oil amounts to only a few hundred tons per year, but by the 1986 season, plantations could produce one million pounds (450,000 kg) of oil. And that may double in 1987.
The development of jojoba has not always been smooth. In various parts of the world there have been high-pressure promotions and sales of inappropriate sites as quality jojoba land.
The exaggerated claims of a few unscrupulous promoters have caused some people to view the plant with skepticism and have cast doubt upon the industry's integrity. It is the goal of this book to provide balanced, unbiased information.
The panel that produced this report met at Riverside, California, and Tucson, Arizona, in July 1982. The members visited commercial jojoba plantations at Desert Center, California, and Hyder, Arizona. Their initial observations were followed by extended staff investigations. The panel wishes to express its appreciation to Peter Childs, LeMoyne Hogan, William Miller, Daniel Murray, and the late Demetrios Yermanos for arranging meetings and details of the visits. Thanks are also due the contributors (see Appendix C) who provided information and reviewed parts of the text.
This report has been produced under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation (ACTI) of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development, National Research Council. ACTI is mandated to assess innovative scientific and technological advances, with particular emphasis on those appropriate for developing countries.
Program costs for this study were provided by the William H. Donner Foundation. Staff support was provided by the Office of the Science Advisor, Agency for International Development, under Grant Number DAN-5538-G-SS-1023-00.
How to cite this report:
National Research Council. 1985. Jojoba: New Crop for Arid Lands, New Material for Industry. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
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