Govt eyes sweet sorghum as extra feedstock for ethanol. | (सूत्रों का कहना है कि सरकार इथेनॉल के लिए अतिरिक्त फीडस्टॉक के रूप में मीठी ज्वार पर विचार कर रही है )

Main Points In Hindi (मुख्य बातें – हिंदी में)

1. मीठा ज्वार का बढ़ावा: प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय (PMO) ने मीठे ज्वार को इथेनॉल उत्पादन के लिए अतिरिक्त फीडस्टॉक के रूप में बढ़ावा देने की योजना बनाई है, जिससे गन्ना, चावल और मक्का की उपलब्धता के मुद्दों का समाधान हो सके।

2. कृषि की चुनौतियाँ: भारत में मीठी ज्वार की खेती की प्रगति धीमी है, क्योंकि इसके लिए एक उचित नीति की आवश्यकता है। फसल की उपज सामान्य ज्वार से 40-50 प्रतिशत कम है, जिसके कारण किसान इसे अपनाने में हिचकिचा रहे हैं।

3. जल उपयोग की प्रभावशीलता: मीठा ज्वार कम पानी की आवश्यकता रखता है, जिससे यह गन्ने के मुकाबले अधिक फायदेमंद विकल्प हो सकता है। इसे साल में दो से तीन बार उगाया जा सकता है, जो इसकी फसल चक्र को अधिकतम करता है।

4. पायलट प्रोजेक्ट्स: पिछले साल किए गए पायलट प्रोजेक्ट्स के माध्यम से मीठे ज्वार की फसल के विभिन्न औद्योगिक उपयोगों का परीक्षण किया गया है, जिसमें सिरप और चारे के रूप में इसका उपयोग भी शामिल है।

5. इथेनॉल के लिए कीमत निर्धारण: मीठे ज्वार से प्राप्त इथेनॉल की खरीद के लिए कोई स्पष्ट मूल्य नीति नहीं होने से इसे प्रोत्साहित करने में बाधा आ रही है, जिसके कारण किसान इसकी खेती करने में reluctant हैं।

Main Points In English(मुख्य बातें – अंग्रेज़ी में)

Here are the main points regarding the promotion of sweet sorghum for ethanol production based on the provided text:

1. Government Support for Sweet Sorghum: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is taking steps to promote sweet sorghum as an alternative feedstock for ethanol production, particularly through collaboration with the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) to popularize commercially viable varieties.

2. Slow Progress and Challenges: Despite the development of the first sweet sorghum variety in India back in 1992, progress in adopting this crop for ethanol production has been slow due to the lack of a designated nodal ministry and scattered responsibilities among various departments.

3. Potential Advantages: Sweet sorghum requires less water compared to sugarcane, rice, and corn and can be harvested multiple times a year. This makes it a drought-resistant alternative that could enhance ethanol production while alleviating water scarcity in agriculture.

4. Economic and Yield Concerns: Current yields of sweet sorghum are reportedly lower than traditional crops, and farmers may require proper compensation and guaranteed buyers to incentivize its adoption for ethanol production.

5. Need for Policy Development: To fully integrate sweet sorghum into ethanol production, the government needs to establish pricing policies that would encourage sugar mills to invest in its cultivation and reassure farmers of a reliable market for their crops.

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Complete News In Hindi(पूरी खबर – हिंदी में)

Complete News In English(पूरी खबर – अंग्रेज़ी में)

The government may promote sweet sorghum as an alternative to sugarcane for ethanol production. The Prime Minister’s office has instructed scientists to help popularize commercially developed varieties of sweet sorghum from the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) in Hyderabad.

In August, a meeting was held to review the potential of sweet sorghum in biofuel production. There has been slow progress because no main ministry is responsible for the ethanol blending program; various departments are involved, leading to inefficiencies. The first sweet sorghum variety was developed in India in 1992.

Top officials indicated that the Prime Minister’s office is interested in using sweet sorghum as an additional feedstock for ethanol amid concerns about the availability of sugarcane, rice, and corn in the coming years.

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Last year, the Bhagwan Ram Trust in Varanasi tested sweet sorghum on one acre, and this season, the project is being extended to the Jaspur district in Chhattisgarh. After harvesting in September, the trust plans to expand the cultivation area with local authorities’ help.

The trust has utilized the sweet sorghum crop for animal fodder, syrup production, and some flour processing. However, the variety used was acquired from the U.S.

According to IIMR’s lead scientist A.V. Umakanth, this year’s new sweet sorghum variety, CSV 58SS, has increased juice yield to 15,000-16,000 liters per hectare, compared to 12,000-14,000 liters per hectare from the first variety developed in 1992 (SSV 84). He noted that sweet sorghum’s appeal as a feedstock for ethanol production is linked to its industrial applications, but a suitable policy is needed to boost its adoption.

Farmers are hesitant to grow sweet sorghum because it yields 40-50% less than regular sorghum, and they would need adequate compensation for the lower output.

Pilot studies conducted by IIMR at various sugar mills showed that the ethanol recovery from sweet sorghum juice was between 9-11%, yielding 40-55 liters of ethanol from one ton of stalks. In contrast, a ton of sugarcane produces about 70 liters of ethanol.

Umakanth explained that sweet sorghum requires less water than sugarcane—about half of what is needed for beet and one-third of sugarcane’s water requirement. The government still needs to establish a pricing policy for sweet sorghum used in ethanol production. Currently, oil marketing companies buy ethanol at varying rates for different feedstocks like sugarcane juice, jaggery, rice, and corn. Until a price is set for ethanol from sweet sorghum, mills will not encourage its cultivation, and farmers will only grow it if there are assured buyers.

Some seed companies are currently selling sweet sorghum for animal fodder in northern regions due to rising costs of other feed.



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