If you can't afford it, make it yourself. That's the approach a group of farmers in Limpopo have adopted to weather the costs of any future fuel-price shocks.

The farmers in the Soutpansberg area have set up a manufacturing plant that turns more than 800 litres of used cooking oil a day into biodiesel at a cost of less than R2 a litre.

Diesel, which is unregulated at the pumps, costs about R5 a litre, 75 percent higher than the biodiesel manufactured by the farmers.

The biodiesel can be used in a range of diesel-driven vehicles and farming equipment, providing a cheap alternative to the diesel currently sold at petrol stations.

Green friendly fuel

Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly, carbon-free fuel that emits non-toxic gases.

Huge quantities of cooking oil are used in cafes and restaurants countrywide daily and are discarded afterwards.

The Soutpansberg farmers buy the used oil from these outlets, they clean it and mix it with sodium hydroxide and methanol to produce biodiesel for use in tractors, diesel bakkies, generators and other diesel-operated equipment.

But there is one problem ? there isn't enough used cooking oil to increase production. The farmers are in talks with an Indian-based bio-oil company, DI Oil, to purchase the seeds of oil-bearing plants to increase production levels.

Reeling from increased diesel prices and persistent drought in the province, the innovative venture is a huge relief for farmers in the Soutpansberg area.

Making life easier

Farmer Dries Joubert says it will make the farmers' lives "much easier" if they have their own oil supply. He says the benefits of producing their own fuel are enormous.

"Biodiesel is just as efficient in carrying out daily farming activities. The biodiesel can be used in all diesel-operated vehicles and implements without having to modify the engines."

The project was started three months ago and already the majority of the most farmers in the province have shown are interested interest to in switching to biodiesel, says Joubert.

"But we are not looking at expanding the laboratory to produce more diesel for resale to farmers around the country. We are farmers, and we've set up this venture to help ourselves."

Sowetan