Bengaluru: Increasing ethanol production and expanding its use as an alternative fuel can help boost farmers’ income, reduce dependence on imported crude oil and curb carbon emissions, speakers at a farmers’ cooperative seminar on ethanol production said in Bengaluru.
The seminar, organised to discuss ethanol production and consumption from sugarcane, was inaugurated by Maharashtra Agricultural Prices Commission chairman Pasa Patel, who lit a lamp using ethanol oil.
‘Reduce dependence on petrol, diesel’
Patel said ethanol production and consumption should be encouraged to reduce air pollution caused by petrol and diesel and lower India’s dependence on crude oil imports.
He recalled that a sugarcane-based product was reportedly produced at the Mysore Sugar Factory in Mandya as early as 1840, transported to Mumbai, mixed with petrol and used in buses.
Patel said the early experiment was a matter of pride for Karnataka and Mandya, adding that farmers could have benefited more economically if alternative fuel production had received greater attention earlier.
He also linked rising carbon emissions, deforestation and air pollution to environmental changes and changing rainfall patterns.
“With air pollution reaching dangerous levels in urban areas, priority should be given to alternative fuels,” Patel said.
He also announced that a national farmers’ conference on ethanol production and consumption would be held in Mumbai on September 28 and 29.
‘E20 can save ₹4 lakh crore in forex’
State Sugarcane Growers Association president Kuruburu Shanthakumar, who chaired the discussion, urged the Centre to introduce more schemes to promote ethanol production and strengthen the agricultural sector.
He said ethanol could be produced from sugarcane, maize, rice and other crops, and called for technology that would enable small-scale ethanol production at the farm level. The possibility of using ethanol as an alternative cooking fuel should also be explored, he said.
According to Shanthakumar, India has an annual ethanol production capacity of around 1,700-1,800 crore litres, while Karnataka has more than 56 production units and distilleries, producing around 135 crore litres annually.
He said increasing ethanol blending in petrol to 20% (E20) could reduce crude oil imports and potentially save around ₹4 lakh crore in foreign exchange.
“Ethanol is not just an alternative fuel; it is a symbol of a green future and self-reliance,” Shanthakumar said, calling for greater public support for biofuels.
Agricultural waste could become extra income
Ethanol researcher and retired professor Harinikumar said agricultural waste such as sugarcane molasses, wheat, maize and rice residues could be converted into ethanol at relatively low cost.
He said using crop residue that is otherwise burnt after harvest for ethanol production could provide farmers with an additional source of income while helping reduce pollution.
Former minister Murugesh Nirani, Aluminium Association president H.L. Harish, association general secretary Mahesh Belgaonkar, Mysore district general secretary Baradanapur Nagaraj and others attended the seminar.
