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The editorial “Promoting biofuels” (Business Line, September 19) states that at least 2.2 million hectares of land will be required for even a 5 per cent blend and asks “Where is this land?”. The Tamil Nadu Government lists 0.5 million hectares as “barren and uncultivable”, 0.7 million hectares as “current fallow lands” and 1.5 million hectares as “other fallow lands”. The neighbouring States of Andhra Pradesh and Karantaka are substantially larger, geographically, with huge swaths that are semi-arid.

While there are many hurdles to promoting biofuels, finding suitable land is not one of them, since jatropha thrives in semi-arid areas that are ill-suited for other cultivation or forestation.

It should also be borne in mind that the monetary yield from a hectare of jatropha is far greater than that from many of the primary crops grown in the southern states and a promotional programme can be structured to benefit landless agricultural labourers and marginal farmers.

N. Bala Ganesan Chennai

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