G. S. Murty
Andhra University, India
Title: Cow based farming- its energy, economical and environmental benefits for sustainable development in the Indian context – an overview
Biography
Biography: G. S. Murty
Abstract
The presentation will focus the importance of cow based organic farming for the sustainable development of the rural economical condition of India. Indian agriculture is centered round the cow and its progeny since vedic ages ( about 9000 yrs old) and is true( to some extent) even now.India has an arable land of about 17million hectares and 16 million farmers of which 60% hold less than a hectare.Mahatma Gandhi, in his vision for India, envisaged a system of devolved, self-sufficient communities, sustaining their needs from the local environment, and organizing income generating ventures around co-operative structures. But in view of shifted priorities and Rapid changes in Indian economic front, particularly in service sector, is effecting the agriculture.It will be an enigma to predict the future of Indian agriculture unless specific effective programs are carved out addressing the rural economy which would also enable employment of the rural masses that are spread in six lakh ( 0.6 million ) villages. We know that Energy access is a critical prerequisite to poverty reduction and the answer Indian villages lies in gober gas and its improved version Bio methane that can be harnessed from the cow dung available ( about 1250 Mt ) in rural areas from 300 million cattle. In 1992, the Government of India established MNRE, the world’s first ministry committed to renewable energy. According to MNRE reports presently there are about 4 million family-size biogas plants installed in the country and has a potential for 12 million family-size biogas plants , estimated as 17000MW energy. Researchers showed that the dung produced by each cow corresponds to energy equivalent of 225 liters of petrol. Thus even if half of the cow dung is harnessed properly in India, it can meet all the LPG and Kerosene needs used for cooking purposes and fuel. In addition the slurry produced as by product is excellent organic manure, meets the entire fertilizer requirement for 150 Million hectares of crop lands of India. India is on the road of organic farming and several agencies are working towards this goal. Organic sustainable agriculture practices can provide synergic benefits that include mitigating climate change, improving ground water level and quality, reducing the agricultural GHG providing both quality and quantity of the products and in turn the health of the people. Harnessing this potential is a challenge but if addressed properly several solutions will emerge for the rural development where India lives mostly.