GET THE BALANCE RIGHT

India currently relies on three major food crops—rice, maize and sugarcane—for ethanol production. Ethanol-blended petrol supports the country’s goals of carbon neutrality and energy sovereignty. But the transition to clean energy must not jeopardise food security.

- SHAGUN

ANNADATA SE Urjadata; or from provider of food to provider of energy. This billboard announcement, that one can spot almost anywhere in the country, from petrol pumps to fair price shops to government buildings, declares a new identity for India's distressed farmers. As if to highlight this improved status of farmers and the country, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, took to X (formerly Twitter) on April 1, and said, "India's farmers are now driving the nation's energy future." Next day, on the same platform, the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas made a more specific pitch: "Ethanol isn't just fuel-it's a lifeline for farmers." Later that month, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, also emphasised at an event the pivotal roles of farmers in India's future energy ecosystem.

This vision is already taking root in Uttar Pradesh's Shravasti district. Budh Sagar Maurya from Mohanpur Bhartha village, who has primarily been a wheat and paddy grower all his life, has made a notable shift. This rabi season, he scaled back his wheat cultivation to make room for spring maize, sown around FebruaryMarch. The reason, Maurya tells Down To Earth (DTE), is better prices for maize, which is now in demand for producing a liquid fuel, ethanol. "Since wheat can be harvested around April, I kept 0.4 hectare (ha) of my 1 ha land fallow for three months to be able to sow maize on time," Maurya says.

Last year he cultivated maize on 0.2 ha and sold it for 2,250 per quintal (100 kg), above the minimum support price (MSP) of *2,090 per quintal and much above average production cost of ₹1,447 per quintal. "Government officials tell me this year the prices will increase further," Maurya tells DTE.