From chhattisgarh-net@yahoogroups.com mailing list.

Hi,
> My name is Deepak Rajagopal and I am pursuing PhD at University of
> California, Berkeley, USA focussing on Rural Electrification in
India.
> This summer (June 2005) I along with two other graduate students
conducted
> field research sponsored by the United Nations Industrial
Development
> Organization (UNIDO) on the potential of non-edible oils as a fuel
for
> rural electrification and transportation.
>
> Our overall recommendation is that such oils, no doubt, have a
vital role
> to play as alternative fuels in the years to come and we urge the
> government promote this sector through carefully designed and
sustainable
> policies. There are crucial environmental and socio-economic
benefits to
> using such fuels. But we identified several areas where little
research
> has been done and which are vital to the success of the government's
> vision. Here a few selected findings,
>
> 1. The government and industry seem to be focusing exclusively on
Jatropha
> for large scale plantation. Jatropha has its fair share of critics
and
> there is little evidence in government proposals addressing their
> concerns, which deserve attention. When compared with its closest
> competitor Pongamia (Karanj), Jatropha seems to have just the
benefit of
> beginning to yield in 3 years as opposed to 6 years. On other hand,
> Pongamia cake is more nitrogen rich and more valuable (this is
critical to
> the economics as I explain below), the tree has a longer life (50+
years
> as opposed to 25 years for Jatropha), greater carbon sequestration
> potential, and not toxic like Jatropha. There are several
scientific
> studies that show Jatropha oil to contain toxic substances (phorbol
> esters) that are cancer-promoting, and also cause skin irriation,
> diarrhoea and gastro-intestinal inflammation in rats during
laboratory
> experiments. Castor is a quick yielding (90 day crop I was told)
crop,
> which could be used in the short-term. Finally, there are also
ecological
> issues around mono-cropping a new species on such a large scale
without
> sufficient experience. In summary, promote a diverse variety of
crops and
> address the toxicity and ecological issues of Jatropha
>
> 2. The cake remaining after oil extraction, looked upon merely as
> by-product, maybe economically as valuable as the oil. Assuming
that the
> seeds yield, 25% by weight as oil and 75% by weight cake, and that
at
> least in the case of Pongamia these cakes can sell at about a third
of the
> cost of nitrogen fertilizer on a per kg basis. Thus for every kg of
oil
> produced and expected to be sold at Rs.20/kg, the remaining three
kg of
> cake can fetch the same amount of revenue from sale of cake. Thus
if laws
> can be enacted requiring national fertilizer companies to procure
> bio-fertilizer which are more environment friendly than petroleum
based
> fertilizers, we could envision growing such oil crops just for the
purpose
> of bio-fertilizer. In such cases, Pongamia being a nitrogen fixing
tree
> may be more suitable than Jatropha. In summary, facilitate the
creation of
> a well functioning and stable market for cake as a bio-fertilizer
through
> policies and regulations.
>
> 3. Use of oil in virgin form i.e., Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) may
> provide the same benefits as biodiesel but at much lower costs (not
> requiring sophisticated trans-esterification and large refineries)
at low
> levels of blending with diesel. Trans-esterification requires
methanol,
> which is made from fossil fuels. Ethanol could be used but it is
supposed
> to result in lower yields. This should be investigated.
>
> 4. There are several instances across countries in which similar
> initiatives have failed. These have been because of misplaced
expectations
> and lack of crucial support to the farmers during the long
maturation
> phase of these crops. Either the government runs the whole operation
> itself by employing the farmers as mere wage labourers till
maturation or
> it has to provide enough incentives for the farmer to survive the
initial
> years during which there are no returns. The government could also
> facilitate partnerships between individual farmers and private
> entrepreneurs who could enter into various types of contracts and
> financial agreements.
>
> 5. There is little clear knowledge about optimal cropping patterns,
> irrigation and watering, fertilizer and pesticide requirements,
which are
> all supposed to be minimal. But we visited ICRISAT Hyderbad, a
premier
> research institute focusing on developing robust crops for semi-
arid areas
> and we were told there is no scientific basis for the claims above
claims.
> In summary, there is a need for increased scientific research,
perform
> education and outreach and also solicit input from rural
communities.
>
> 6. Need to develop institutions at the village level like
cooperative
> societies, which can help the farmers, negotiate effectively with
buyers
> of seeds.
>
> Thanks
> Regards
> Deepak.
>
>