Now Reading: India’s ethanol policy risks water, land and food security
-
01
India’s ethanol policy risks water, land and food security
Hindustan Times reports that India's ethanol blending target, brought forward to 2025, is driving a rapid expansion of sugarcane cultivation, with serious consequences for water and land. The government sets sugarcane prices…
The Story in Brief
Hindustan Times reports that India's ethanol blending target, brought forward to 2025, is driving a rapid expansion of sugarcane cultivation, with serious consequences for water and land. The government sets sugarcane prices at Rs 355 per quintal, more than double the estimated production cost, and provides subsidised electricity for irrigation. A 2020 study cited by the outlet estimates that meeting the 20% target through molasses would require an additional 348 billion cubic metres of water and 19 million hectares of land, roughly four times the 2010-2018 levels. The shift to grain-based ethanol, such as maize, would not solve these problems, as maize also demands land and water. The policy mirrors the American corn ethanol model, which a 2022 study found may have higher greenhouse gas emissions when land-use change is factored in.
The Indian Opinion
The government sells ethanol as a green win for farmers and the environment, but the numbers tell a harder story. Sugarcane already guzzles more than half of Maharashtra's irrigation water on just 4% of its land. The 20% blending target, if met through molasses, would require water equal to nearly four times recent use, as Hindustan Times reports. The narrative of clean fuel sidesteps the real trade-off: food versus fuel, and water for all versus subsidies for a few. The test will be whether the next procurement price for ethanol accounts for the true cost of water.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
