NGOs oppose bio-fuel crops

Special Correspondent

Foresee a disastrous effect on livelihood of people and food security

Jatropha plantations detrimental to people and the environment

Pressure from corporate lobby attributed to encouragement of the crop

HYDERABAD: A national consultation of people’s movements and NGOs have
warned the governments across the country against aggressive promotion
of bio-fuel crops as they could have a disastrous effect on the
livelihood of people and food security.

At a press conference here on Thursday, P. V. Satheesh of Deccan
Development Society that hosted the consultation, said the large-scale
propagation of plants like jatropha could not be considered as
solution to climate change crisis, as is being projected. It was
leading to takeover of lands, core to food sovereignty of several
families, after falsely considering them “waste”, he said.
Ecological role

In fact, rural and forest communities say that there was nothing
called wastelands as most of these are grazing lands, pastures and
degraded forests on which small and marginal farmers thrive. These
so-called wastelands not only support multitude of livelihoods but
have ecological role to play. “It is time we ask ourselves whether we
grow crops for food or for cars,” he said
‘Hell oil’

Experiences narrated by the participants from Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh vividly brought out the enormous damage
that jatropha, now known in Rajasthan as “hell oil”, was causing to
people and the environment, he said. “In spite of this knowledge,
under intense pressure of the corporate lobby, the neo-liberal
planners are pushing jatropha plantations”.

Participants pointed out that jatropha plantations were highly water-
demanding and processing of biomass for extraction of oil was not
energy efficient and hence not climate- friendly. The participants of
the consultation included Ravi Rebbapragada of Samata, Sagari Ramdas
of Anthra, Mohd. Osman of Central Research Insitutute for Dryland
Agriculture and representatives from various organisations from
Jharkhand, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/07/stories/2007120757450400.htm