Patancheru, India
February 15, 2008
While the global debate ranges on
whether the biofuel revolution is causing imbalances in food
security systems and increasing the emissions of greenhouse
gases, the 'smart' biofuel crops developed, utilized and
promoted by the International
Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
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 the poor farmers of
the drylands to the biofuel market, without compromising on
their food security, or causing environmental damage.
"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," Dr Dar said.
Through its BioPower Strategy, ICRISAT is developing and
promoting sweet sorghum as a major feedstock for
bioethanol. Sweet sorghum is a carbon dioxide neutral crop,
which is a big contributory factor of being called a smart crop.
ICRISAT-bred sweet sorghum varieties and hybrids have increased
sugar content in the juice in their stalks. ICRISAT's rainy
season varieties give 42% higher sugar yield, and rainy season
hybrids give a 20% increased sugar yield.
Sweet sorghum has a strong pro-poor advantage since it has a
triple product potential - grain, juice for ethanol, and bagasse
(crushed stalk 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 the sugar-rich juice from the stalk that can be distilled
to ethanol.
There are other benefits also. It is a cost-effective and
competitive feedstock. It has a shorter crop cycle of 4 months
compared to the 12 months of sugarcane. It has a water
requirement of 4,000 cubic meter to produce a kiloliter of
bioethanol, compared to 36,000 cu.m required for sugarcane.
Putting all the factors together, the feedstock cost to produce
one kiloliter of ethanol from sweet sorghum is US$ 81.6, whereas
it is US$ 111.5 for sugarcane and US$ 89.2 for maize.
Sweet sorghum is tolerant to water scarcity and high
temperatures, two qualities which will keep the crop in good
stead when the climate changes with global warming.
It also has high water use efficiency. While sorghum requires
310 kg of water per kg of dry matter, maize requires 370 kg of
water per kg of dry matter.
Sweet sorghum 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 and emits 45 tons of carbon.
The crop also has a good energy balance, that is unit of energy
generated per unit of fossil-fuel energy invested in its
cultivation. Sweet sorghum generates 8 units of energy for every
unit of fossil-fuel energy invested, which compares favorably
with sugarcane's 8.3, and for corn it is only 1.8 units.
It has been studied that gasoline blended with ethanol has lower
emissions when run through an automobile engine than pure
gasoline. E85, the fuel with 85% ethanol, has only 1 part per
million concentration of nitrogen oxide whereas gasoline has 9
ppm.
ICRISAT's initiative to produce biofuels is not limited to
bioethanol from sweet sorghum alone. Through its watershed
development project, it is promoting the cultivation of Pongamia
and Jatropha, from which biodiesel can be extracted.
ICRISAT is promoting the cultivation of these biodiesel crops by
marginalized communities such as tribal groups and women's
self-help groups and ensuring that they are planted on
wastelands. The groups get additional income after harvesting
and crushing the seeds, selling the oil, and selling the
seedcake (the residue after crushing) to farmers as an organic
fertilizer. Some of the oil is used to power village diesel
engines such as generators and irrigation pumps.
"Likewise, our biodiesel initiatives produce green fuel and
rehabilitate degraded lands, enhance greenery, conserve
rainwater, and provide a sustainable income source for the
landless and marginal farmers," said Dr Dar.
The issues of food versus fuel, climate change and environment,
land use, and impact on poverty alleviation vis-à-vis biofuels
call for stimulating and informed science-based policy-making.
That means a framework to promote biofuels should be linked to
national and regional poverty reduction, food security and
climate proofing strategies. |
|
