Pass The Sugar, Please
New Delhi   23-May-2008
<b>India's biofuel programme is examining non-edible sources to ensure food security</b> <img src=/newimages/thumbnail/boifuels.jpg width=450 height=269> It's been a spectacular fall from grace. Biofuel-not too long ago dubbed as the big green hope, an eco-friendly alternative to carbon-emitting fossil fuels-has been put through the blender. It has become the fall guy of the global foods crisis. And quite contrary to US President George Bush's point of view, we know what's to blame: massive diversion of maize and corn by the US to produce eco-friendly transport fuel. Simply put, biofuel has pitted hungry cars against hungry people. No wonder it's suddenly such a bad word. But that's the global pitch. India professes to be different. Despite teething problems, the petrol you buy is in all probability blended with ethanol. Research is on, pilot projects are under way and biodiesel plantations are being put in place. There are high hopes that biofuel will help reduce import dependence on crude oil. How far is this hope justified? As things stand, unfortunately, India is not within touching distance of unlocking the potential. India's biofuel programme is at a nascent stage and despite available technology, food is not being looked at for making transport fuel. Under attack on rising food prices at home, the government is keen to emphasise this point. As minister of new and renewable energy Vilas Muttemwar puts it, "Principally, we're against use of food for fuel. Categorically, we don't want to be involved even in the use of edible oil for making transport fuel." That's why, in 2000, the Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC's) R&D centre at Faridabad started looking at non-edible oilseeds, traditionally used in some parts of the country to produce oil for lighting lamps and even run small machinery. "India is now looking at sweet sorghum, agri and forest waste as a substitute to sugarcane molasses for production of ethanol (which is blended with petrol). When it comes to biodiesel, we are only going to use non-edible oilseeds," avers Dr Anand Kumar, director (R&D), IOC. Jatropha and karanjia seeds, IOC has discovered, can be converted to biodiesel. Moreover, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and other state-owned oil companies are investing in biomass research to replace sugarcane molasses. For all the work in the labs, India is running behind its own roadmap for the greening of automobile fuels. Its plan to supply petrol blended with five per cent ethanol is yet to take off fully across the country. Petroleum ministry officials admit this is not due to any lack of ethanol. Vinay Kumar, MD, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories, says, "We have 1,200 million litres of surplus ethanol after taking care of chemical and potable alcohol requirements." In 2007-08, however, the oil companies lifted only about 300 million litres of ethanol—against the target of 550 million litres. The problem: while sugar mills are more than willing to supply ethanol, the oil marketing companies are trying to negotiate below the government fixed price of Rs 21.50 per litre. The sugar mills ended up reneging on contracts. Now, of course, with global crude oil prices inching past $125 per barrel, the oil companies are not making any fuss about the price. But the tendering process and levies in some states are creating problems, adds Vinay Kumar. Currently, petrol blended with ethanol is not uniformly available in the 17 states that supply it. Some states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala are holding out. And, even though there is an October 2008 deadline to enforce 10 per cent ethanol blend, no one expects it to be met. Reason: auto makers say the higher blend will not work with vehicles that are more than a few years old. As far as biodiesel goes, experts stress that only economies of scale can sustain the programme. A major hitch is the much delayed biodiesel policy, which has been referred to a Group of Ministers for ironing out what is essentially a turf war between half a dozen ministries. Till the deadlock persists, the pace of the programme is expected to be slow. The government's cautiousness stems from the fact that the optimal yield of the jatropha crop is still not known. As Kirit S. Parikh, member, Planning Commission, puts it, "If you promote a lots of farmers to go for plantation and three-four years down the line the yield is poor, then you would have put lots of people to hardship and pain." (see interview). Experiments have revealed that the yield of jatropha seeds can vary from 2-4 tonnes/hectare to as much as 10-12 tonnes/hectare depending on the variety and location. So far, no scientific work has been done on jatropha, which has long been considered a weed. DBT adviser Renu Swarup reveals, "We are already looking at jatropha in various environment conditions and working out different agronomic practices through a 14-centre network." Even as the lab results of high-yielding varieties are awaited, many states like Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa are pushing ahead with jatropha and karanjia plantations. With research indicating that up to 50 per cent blend of biodiesel with diesel is possible without major engine modification, oil companies are eager to play along. So far, IOC, in partnership with the Indian Railways, has planted jatropha in 62 hectares of land along railway tracks—against the 5,000 hectares planned. The experiment has not been a success as plants in waterlogged areas have wilted while those in dry areas are not thriving. Nonetheless, IOC director (planning) B.M. Bansal is optimistic of realising "our ultimate target of producing one million tones of biodiesel per annum in 8-10 years" once the proposed plantations in states like Chhattisgarh and MP start yielding seeds. The oil major is planning on contract farming to get assured raw stock. For a 20 per cent blend of biodiesel by 2012, planners envisage a requirement of 27 billion plants spread over 11.2 million hectares. On the negative side, being toxic, the jatropha residue—post extraction—is unfit for animal feed. "The environmental benefit will only be known after the lifecycle assessment is completed," adds Dr Alok Adholeya, director, Biotechnology, TERI. There are other issues: jatropha thrives better with irrigation and fertilisers. "Earlier, our idea was to encourage cultivation of non-edible oil seeds as the impression was that plants like jatropha did not require water. But experiments prove that is not so. If irrigation facilities are available, why should farmers grow anything other than food crop," asks agriculture secretary P.K. Mishra. Clearly, no one likes the idea of diversion of good agriculture land for non-food crops. To ensure that this doesn't happen, International Food Policy Research Institute director (Asia) Ashok Gulati states, "There should be no subsidy whatsoever on any biofuel programme including pricing of power and water used for irrigation of sugarcane for ethanol." Clearly, for all the research and promise, there's too much up in the air. A clear roadmap is lacking. In that sense, biofuel in India isn't a dirty word—it's just not an important one.