Smartly ensuring environmental security using bio fuel

‘Smart’ biofuel crops ensure food and environmental security

The leftover stalks after juice extraction, can be used for animal feed

Sweet harvest:Dr. Belum V.S. Reddy, Principal Scientist, Icrisat, at a sweet sorghum field.

While the global debate rages on whether the biofuel revolution is causing imbalances in food security systems and increasing the greenhouse gas emissions the ‘smart’ biofuel crops developed, utilized and promoted by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, ensure energy and environmental security.

According to Dr William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, the time has come to ensure that only smart biofuel crops are developed and utilized so that they can link poor dryland farmers with the biofuel market, without compromising on their food security, or causing environmental damage.

Energy security

“Smart biofuel crops are those that ensure food security, contribute to energy security, provide environmental sustainability, tolerate the impacts of climate change on shortage of water and high temperatures, and increase livelihood options,” he said.

Through its BioPower Strategy, ICRISAT is developing and promoting sweet sorghum as a major feedstock for producing bioethanol.

Sweet sorghum is a carbon dioxide neutral crop, which is a big contributory factor to being called a smart crop.

ICRISAT-bred sweet sorghum varieties and hybrids have increased sugar content in their stalks.

It has a strong pro-poor advantage since it has a triple product potential, that is grain, juice for ethanol, and bagasse (waste) for livestock feed and power generation.

Its highlight is that there is no compromise on farmers’ food security, since the grain is available for the farmers, along with sugar-rich juice from the stalk that can be distilled to manufacture ethanol.

Cost-effective

There are other benefits also. It is a cost-effective and competitive feedstock. It has a shorter crop cycle of 4 months compared to sugarcane, which is a 12-month crop and requires lesser water.

It requires only half of the water required to grow maize and one eighth of the water required to grow sugarcane. The cultivation cost is less when compared to sugarcane.

The juice from the stalks is used for fuel alcohol production. The leftover stalks (called sillage), after juice extraction, can be used for animal feed, according to Dr. Belum Reddy, Principal Scientist, Sorghum Breeding, of the Institute.

Sweet sorghum is tolerant to water scarcity and high temperatures, two qualities which will keep the crop in good stead in the context of climate change. It also has high water use efficiency.

Environment friendly

It is a carbon dioxide neutral crop that makes it environment friendly, and does not add to greenhouse gas emissions. During its growth cycle, a hectare of sweet sorghum cultivation absorbs about 45 tonnes of carbon.

It has been found from studies that gasoline blended with ethanol has lower emissions when run through an automobile engine than pure gasoline.

Field experiments conducted have proved that from one hectare of sweet sorghum, a farmer can harvest about 30 tonnes of fresh stalk. The cost of cultivation of sweet sorghum works out to Rs.10,500 per hectare. It generates a total income of Rs. 21,000 with a net return of Rs 10,500.

Good animal feed

The stalks of sweet sorghum are relished by cattle and the digestibility is higher compared to grain sorghum. In the absence of a distillery, the farmer can sell the stalks to animal feed manufacturers. The sillage from sweet sorghum stalk is a good animal feed like grain sorghum.

ICRISAT’s initiative to produce biofuels is not limited to bio ethanol from sweet sorghum alone.

Water shed project

Through its watershed development project, it is promoting the cultivation of Pongamia and Jatropha also from which biodiesel can be extracted.

For more information readers can contact Dr. Belum V.S. Reddy, Principal Scientist, email: b.reddy@cgiar.org, GT-Crop Improvement, email: b.reddy@cgiar.org , phone: 040-30713487 and 040-30713348, ICRISAT P. O., Patancheru, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh: 502324.