Sustainable high yield castor oil production in a desert area in Ethiopia Castor oil has a unique chemical structure, making it valuable oil for more than 500 industrial applications, amongst others in the lubricants, pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetics, paper, plastics, and electronics industries. The worldwide demand for castor oil is rising structurally, creating an attractive business opportunity.The Dutch applicant Busoco B.V. is one of the major shareholders in the Israeli company Agropeace Bio Ltd. Its daughter company Agropeace Bio Ethiopia Plc. has proven to be able to realise a sustainable yield of 6 tons per hectare on a trial farm in a desert area in the Somali Region in Ethiopia. The company will use this trial results to start a sustainable castor farm on commercial scale of 225 ha, producing 675 tons of extracted castor oil per year. For that purpose advanced Israeli agricultural technology will be used. It will create 144 jobs in a region where no other companies are active.The project will make available water and family drip irrigation systems to the local semi-nomad population and train them how to grow vegetables and fruits in a desert area. Two years after the project, the farm will be expanded to 2,225 ha, creating 1,340 direct jobs. The project will make the desert green, following the Cramer criteria for sustainable large-scale plantations.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The Applicant has good working conditions in his company. Agropeace Bio Ethiopia has established very good salary, fringe benefits and working conditions at the trial farm and invests actively in a sound relationship with the surrounding communities, authorities and the Agricultural University in Dire Dawa. The production will be as much as possible according to the Cramer criteria. A baseline study will be done and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been conducted already. The company will work according to integrated crop management and pest control guidelines. A CSR policy of the company will be drafted and the company will work according to the Ethical Trade Initiative base code.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsAgropeace Bio Ethiopia will employ 34 people on medium- and high-level and 110 persons on basic-level. This will increase to 140 and 1,200 respectively in the two years after PSI. It will pay salaries at least 50% higher as according to the proposal, but at the start of the project the company already pays 90% above the minimum wage of the Government employees, set in February 2011. Working conditions and fringe benefits will be very good as the company is following the ETI base code.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThe following part of the knowledge is new for Ethiopia:- Knowledge about turning a desert area into fertile arable land, using subterranean drip irrigation.- Knowledge about realising a yield of 6 tons per hectare (six times the world average) by means of a tailor-made agricultural approach.- Knowledge on mechanical harvesting of castor beans and on the oil extraction process.•	Chain effectsThe impact on the region will be significant, as the farm will be based in the Somali region with hardly any alternative job opportunities for the nomad population.In the trial farm the company has managed to win the confidence of the employees, the heads of the clans and the Authorities by accomplishing what they promise. But also by supplying water without limitation to the people, who travel 25-30 km to fill their jerrycans. Adjacent to the farm some families have been taught how to grow vegetables and fruits with a family drip irrigation system. For crop rotation purposes, 20% of the farm land will be used for growing food crops.It will be the first commercial company to start using the railroad to Djibouti again after its recent renovation. Once proven successful, others will follow, making the railway company more profitable and having less impact on the environment as compared to the road transport.•	EnvironmentThe impact on the environment will be positive, as a (semi-)desert area will be turned green. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been conducted already, showing that the associated risks are low. The company will work according to the Cramer Criteria for large plantations of bio fuels, despite the fact that the valuable castor oil will not be sold as a bio fuel. There is no competition with food crops, or even the contrary as the company will start growing food crops for rotation purposes and teach the interested semi-nomads how to grow food with family drip irrigation.The company will work according to integrated crop and pest management principles. According to several independent hydrological studies the availability of water at a depth of 150 m is abundant. There is hardly any vegetation in the area, so there will be no loss of biodiversity. The nomads do not use the area, except for some camel tracks along the railroad, which can continue to be used in future as well. Castor plants are non-edible, so there is no need to fence the farm land.•	Position of womenThe company will employ 50% female workers on all levels. Establishment of a 225 ha castor oil plantation and a crude oil facility with a daily capacity of 5 tons castor oil for export purposes.