I News India - Empowering Ideas!

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dismissed all the possibilities of bio-production fuel from food grains in India saying that country would not follow Brazil to use sugar for bio-fuel production. Currently India is facing an unprecedented inflation and shortage of food grains. Concerned on this issue, Prime Minister asked his government not to use food grains for the production of bio-fuel in India as it will definitely enhance inflation crisis.

According to Vilasrao Muttemwar, the minister for non-conventional energy, who is accompanying President Pratibha Patil on her 3-nation tour to Brazil, Mexico and Chile, “The prime minister is very particular that we should not use food grains for producing ethanol or any bio-fuel even if we are facing energy crunch. We cannot afford that.”

Pime Minister asked to use alternative sources of bio-fuel production.

“He has also made it clear that we will grow the (bio-fuel producing) plants (like Jatroba) in waste lands and we should ensure that there would not be any diversification from the traditional cultivation,” Vilasrao said, adding that the country has around 35 million hectares waste land that can be used for cultivation of such plants.

“But how can a country like India where a section of its large population still faces shortage for food grains, can use food grains for the production of fuel? We promote bio-fuels made of plants like Jatropha and energy out of indigenous natural resources,” the official said.

There has been a concern in the world about the increasing usage of food products to create the fuel that led to a food grain shortage. India and Brazil both imports 80 percent fuel. Like Brazil, India also needs to use alternative sources of fuel to level its import from other countries. India, the second biggest producer of sugar after Brazil, mandated in 2003 that nine of its states add a five percent ethanol mix to petrol.

Eighty percent of two million cars made in Brazil have flexi-fuel engines and the country has reduced its requirement of petrol sustainability since then. It has also emerged as the lowest cost producer and leading global exporter of fuel ethanol. Ethanol now makes more than 20 percent of Brazil’s transport fuel market, while the use of alternative fuels in the rest of the world is a scant one percent.

The government has proposed to constitute a bio-fuel board to formulate and implement a comprehensive plan for the production of alternative energy sources.

“The sugar producing states use 10 percent ethanol in the fuel,” Vilasrao Muttemwar, minister of non-conventional energy, told IANS.

The usage of ethanol, which releases less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, helps to reduce the pollution in the air.

Economists have raised concern that the US move to use maize in the production of the ethanol was one of the reasons behind the current food crisis in the world.

President Patil has also shown his concern over the issue saying, “This is a matter of concern. Experts from both the countries will come together to discuss the matter.”

When asked whether India will seek Brazil’s cooperation in producing ethanol from sugar, Patil said: “That is one point of discussion.”

Tags: Bio Fuel, Brazil, food grains, India, Manmohan Singh, MM Singh, PM, Pratibha Patil, President

With the growing population and increasing number of vehicles, the fuel demand is also increasing and if the same series will continue the present stock of fuel will exhaust soon. To combat the same, idea of biofuel comes into light as an alternative way. Biofuel is extracted from plants can be said bio fuel. The fuel can be said as environment friendly with little cheaper than the petroleum products. Hence the consumer and the environmentalists both will be happy.

But the notion of using biofuel seems good from above only. Though it is hygienic and economical and can make the farmers happy but the last year research results revealed shoking information which states that the plan should be revised again. Results say that it takes more energy to produce one unit of bio fuel than the bio fuel gives back. Hence it would not be any intelligence to use energy to produce something that in turn gave reduced energy. It is the United States of America which is trying to implement the concept of converting corn into bio diesel, as it would bring rewards for the farmers and would control the over-dependence of it on Arab oil. Though America has deeper pockets and can go for this loss. But the other countries can’t afford!

This will bring a threat to food price and food stock also. Biofuel is planned to be extracted from corn (Maize) which is the staple diet of Mexicans. If America will start using corn to extract the fuel then in place of supplying corn to its neighbour Mexico it will be the biggest consumer of this food. Growing crops for fuel in place of food can lead to troubles for common people to meet their demands of food.

World Food Programme executive director Josette Sheeran has said that the world’s economy “has now entered a perfect storm for the world’s hungry” caused by high oil and food prices and low food stocks. The inflationary pressures of high food price are likely to continue till 2010 at least. Solution to handle this situation is only to increase the land under agriculture and Reduction in the amount of land used for bio fuels.

But India seems to be on safer side. However hike in food prices is also a problem in our nation but the source of biofuel are not the staple foods like wheat or corn. The magic plant we are experimenting on is ‘Jatropha’. Even poor quality lands can be used to plant this source extensively. Producing electricity from bagasse, a by-product from the sugar industry, harnessing wind and solar energy can prove to be more sensible options for our country. We also need to invest in research so that we produce vehicles that are more efficient in energy consumption and less polluting.

But to fulfill the food requirement should be the first priority. Biofuels though completely satisfies all the conditions on environment and health but a detailed study is required about the pros and cons of using food crops and agricultural land for producing raw material for the bio fuels to prevent any kind of food shortages in the coming years.

Tags: Bio Fuel, India