Sorghum cultivation can provide ethanol and food, say Indian scientists

[JohnWxy]

"The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) said its research on ethanol for biofuel from sweet sorghum and biodiesel from pongamia and jatropha crops, is ensuring energy, livelihood and food security to the dry-land farmers."

http://www.agricultureinformation.com/mag/?p=1031


Sorghum cultivation can provide ethanol and food, say Indian scientists

An international crop research institute has announced plans to introduce cultivation of sweet sorghum in a big way – a rich source of ethanol biofuel – that will not only contribute to the livelihood of poor and marginal dry-land farmers but also provide them food security.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) said its research on ethanol for biofuel from sweet sorghum and biodiesel from pongamia and jatropha crops, is ensuring energy, livelihood and food security to the dry-land farmers. In addition, it is also reducing the use of fossil fuel, which in turn can help in mitigating climate change, the institute claimed in a statement recently.

‘These crops meet the main needs of the dry-land farmers – they do not require much water, can withstand stress and are not expensive to cultivate,’ said ICRISAT media officer S. Gopikrishna Warrier. ICRISAT scientists have bred sorghum varieties and hybrids in partnership with national agricultural research partners that yield higher amount of sugar-rich juice.

(more)

[cutlassmama]

1. Great news! Thanks for posting this

[silverweb]

2. K&R

:kick:

[shawcomm]

3. Buttermilk biscuits and sorghum syrup.

I'm all for more sorghum planting! :thumbsup:

[amborin]

4. 2009: 107 mill tons grain to U.S. ethanol distilleries:

"The 107 million tons of grain that went to U.S. ethanol distilleries in 2009 was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels. More than a quarter of the total U.S. grain crop was turned into ethanol to fuel cars last year. With 200 ethanol distilleries in the country set up to transform food into fuel, the amount of grain processed has tripled since 2004.

snip

From an agricultural vantage point, the automotive hunger for crop-based fuels is insatiable. The Earth Policy Institute has noted that even if the entire U.S. grain crop were converted to ethanol (leaving no domestic crop to make bread, rice, pasta, or feed the animals from which we get meat, milk, and eggs), it would satisfy at most 18 percent of U.S. automotive fuel needs.

When the growing demand for corn for ethanol helped to push world grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008, people in low-income grain-importing countries were hit the hardest. The unprecedented spike in food prices drove up the number of hungry people in the world to over 1 billion for the first time in 2009. Though the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has recently brought food prices down from their peak, they still remain well above their long-term average levels.

The amount of grain needed to fill the tank of an SUV with ethanol just once can feed one person for an entire year. The average income of the owners of the world’s 940 million automobiles is at least 10 times larger than that of the world’s 2 billion hungriest people.

snip

By subsidizing the production of ethanol, now to the tune of some $6 billion each year, U.S. taxpayers are in effect subsidizing rising food bills at home and around the world."

snip

http://www.grist.org/article/u.s.-feeds-one-quarter-of-its-grain-to-cars-while-hunger-is-on-the-rise/

[poopfuel]

5. Suggest you read the arguments here, Amborin

http://setamericafree.org/myths_and_facts.html

While I certainly wouldn't have lunch with these people, they make strong cases and clear up a lot of myths.

If it's permaculture and sustainable ethanol you prefer, go to
alcoholcanbeagas.com