The Hindu Business Line : `Sorghum-based ethanol will not impact food security'

Hyderabad June 14 Dr William Dar, Director General of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), has said that production of ethanol from sweet sorghum caused no threat to food security as farmers can continue to use the grain for food.

Commenting on ethanol production from sweet sorghum, he said the initiative taken up with Rusni Distilleries helped reach a milestone with the first batch of ethanol flowing out of the distillery at Mohammed Shapur in Rangareddy district.

"Our emphasis with the sweet sorghum project is that ethanol is produced from the sweet juice available in the stalk of the crop plant, unlike in the use of grains in other plants. The farmers will continue to use the sorghum grain, while they can earn an additional income from selling the juice," Dr Belum V.S. Reddy, Icrisat's Principal Sorghum Breeder, said.

Though the Rusni Distilleries plant introduced the pioneering technology to prepare ethanol from sweet sorghum, it can consume multiple feedstocks to produce ethanol. "We can produce ethanol from sugarcane juice or from any grain including sorghum and corn grains that farmers have in excess after meeting their needs," Mr A.R. Palaniswamy, Managing Director of Rusni Distilleries, said.

"This ensures that we run the plant and provide employment to farmers throughout the year," he said.

The public-private initiative would cover at least 4,000 acres during this kharif season. The farmers have been identified in village clusters, and seeds of improved varieties have been distributed to them.

"A mechanism has also been designed to collect sweet sorghum stalks from the farmers, have them crushed at the cluster centres and the syrup transported to the production facility," Mr Palaniswamy said.

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