[Thanks Shubhranshu Choudhary ji for forwarding this
information.-Moderator.]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rishu Garg <rishu@...>
Date: Aug 8, 2007 4:49 AM
Subject: RE: [se-food][se-watr] Query: Bio-fuel Plantation through
CommunityGroups - Experiences.
To: "Food and Nutrition Security Community, Water Community" <
se-food_se-wes@...>

Note: The earlier responder Mr. C R Bhatia is no longer with the
Department of Biotechnology; the error is unintentional.





Dear All,



There was an article in HT editorial yesterday (7th August) titled "
From gas to hot air" by Darryl D'Monte trying to address the question,
Are bio-fuels really the answer to our consumption and environmental
problems?. The article raises issues like consequences of large scale
cultivation of Jatropha, use of water and reach of the poor to the
common property resources.



In my earlier response I had meant that there are villages and
habitations spread across the state which are affected by poor water
quality (including salinity), there are also villages spread almost
across the state where mining is done and that there are also areas
that have reported of increasing soil salinity and therefore my query
of "experiences that suggest variation in production of Jatropha seeds
on such lands and how it responds to saline water" was to know if
Jatropha cultivation is feasible in such circumstances. I am sharing
with this mail a "Report of Expert Committee on Integrated Development
of Water Resources". The expert committee was formed by government of
Rajasthan to assess state water resources and requirements in policy,
identify measures for integrated development of water resources in the
state, analyze ground water resources and to identify corrective
measures to enhance water to use efficiency in the state. The report
estimates that in 2004 status of only 14 percent of the blocks of the
state could be categorized as safe. The report states that there are
large tracts of Chambal; Mahi and Indira Gandhi Nahar Project (IGNP)
areas that are affected by salinity and water logging problems. The
report also compares the ground water quality of the state with the
status in rest of India. Of the total habitations and villages across
the country that have multiple water quality problems, 76 percent are
in Rajasthan. In all there are 41,072 villages and habitations in the
state reportedly having water quality problems. The report also
suggested that of the total water use 83 percent is used for
irrigation and that there are issues related to equitable access to
water and the need for more efficient use of water. My query on
response of Jatropha seedling to low quality water was based on the
above mentioned status of water quality in the state, as it becomes
all the more important in this context to also ensure that such water
use (for irrigating Jatropha plantations) would not jeopardize use of
water for drinking or irrigation of crops or for that matter further
deplete ground water resources and at the same time yield adequately
so as to be financially feasible. C.R. Bhatia has talked about it,
"The best Jatropha plantations are the ones with intensive management
and drip irrigation".



Viren Lobo have raised two important issues. First, that 60 lakh
persons being affected by forcible cultivation of bio-fuel and second,
the need to look into the aspect of sustainable land use to meet the
needs of small and marginal farmers. I agree with him. C.R.Bhatia has
also talked about the need for developing wastelands as "energy
farms". I would request Viren to share the study of Dr Sudhirender
Sharma's.



Amitangshu Acharya shared the latest issue of Agrofuels. The issue
assesses the problems that have started to surface in South Asian
countries, Brazil and U.S. At this point of time I am sure we need to
learn from experiences across the globe. The article also talks about
the increased release of nitrogen dioxide in atmosphere those results
from use of fertilizers in the production of bio fuels. R. Santhanm
has suggested use of organic farming methodologies to be efficient in
Indian context. Amitangshu has also suggested of identifying and
listing of NGOs working on the issue. I think it's a good suggestion
and this network could easily help us in doing so. This would also
help us in drawing grass root concerns before it too late. Concerns
for landless, small and marginal farmers have been raised by Rahul
Banerjee and M.K.Dasgupta. I would request Rahul to share experiences
of his organisation on Jatropha in Malwa region. As I know, districts
around Indore (Indore, Dewas, Ujjain, Sehore) are highly fertile black
cotton soil areas where cotton and soyabean yields are high and
Jatropha have been grown by farmers on their agricultural bunds for
fencing. Similar concerns have been raised by H.S. Sharma. Concerns
regarding marketing of produce form bio-fuel plantations in Andhra
Pradesh have been raised by G Nirmala. Subhash Mehta by sharing
observations of Macaulay have also expressed concerns regarding long
term implications of policies that affect food security of the country.



Rishu Garg

Association for Rural Advancement through Voluntary Action and Local
Involvement (ARAVALI)

Jaipur





[se-food][se-watr] Query: Bio-fuel Plantation through Community Groups
- Experiences.



Dear Members,



I am Rishu Garg and I work for ARAVALI, Jaipur. ARAVALI is a
Government of Rajasthan initiated NGO working towards bridging the gap
between government and non-government organisations. We work with
partner organisations across the state on issues of Natural Resource
Management (NRM), Microfinance and livelihoods providing sectoral
inputs as well as for developing effective voluntary institutions.
Besides, we also take up research and policy advocacy work and try to
involve our partners into it.



Recently the government of Rajasthan has come out with a notification
on allotment of wastelands for bio-fuel production. According to the
rules the wastelands in the state can be allotted to Self Help Groups
(SHGs), community based organisations, panchayats, societies,
companies and government undertakings with Below Poverty level (BPL)
membership. The land allotment is for twenty years; a premium and
yearly fees is charged for such allotments to companies, societies and
government undertakings. For allotment to SHGs, community based
organisations and panchayats, no fee is charged. There are also some
other salient features in the programmes like mandatory installation
of micro-irrigation system and provision of mortgaging the land from
financial institutions etc. As a result a number of companies and
other private institutions are vying for allocation of wastelands of
the state. This is also (potential) livelihood opportunity for poor
people of the state, therefore the poorest (BPL groups and community
based organisations) must seize the opportunity.



I think the solution exchange community can pour in with their
experiences on bio-fuel plantation and learning from implementation of
plantation projects, with high gestation period (at least four to five
years for seed production), low returns and an element of
privatization of Common Property Resources.



Apart from the above stated issues I request members to respond on the
three specific queries below:

1. Which are plant species other than Pongamia glabra (Karanj)
and Jatropa curcas (Jatropha) that could qualify for bio-fuel plant?

2. What have been the past experiences of promotion of these bio
fuels in semi-arid and arid regions (rainfall up to 450-500 mm)?

3. Experiences of SHGs in taking up Jatropha and other
plantation as a livelihood promotion activity?



I would be thankful to the community if some success or failure
stories or any pertinent information regarding the same could be
shared through this platform.



Thanks and regards



Rishu Garg

Association for Rural Advancement through Voluntary Action and Local
Involvement (ARAVALI)

Jaipur




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