Sweet sorghum as a biofuel crop where are we now

Abstract

Agriculture and energy have always been linked closely, but the strength of the relationship has significantly increased in recent years. Agriculture has always been a
\nsource of fuels for energy production such as feed for draught animals and, more recently juice for biofuels, e.g., bioethanol (blended with fossil fuels) or biodiesel.Energy supplied by fossil fuels is a major input into modern mechanized crop production. Economic,
\nenvironmental and energy security concerns resulting from excessive reliance on fossil fuels like petroleum are forcing countries throughout the world over to shift to
\nalternatives like biofuels. Since biofuels can be produced from a diverse set of crops, each country is adopting a strategy that exploits the comparative advantages it holds with respect to such crops. For example, sugarcane and maize are the main feedstock for ethanol in Brazil and US respectively, while rapeseed in Europe, and palm oil in
\nMalaysia are the main feedstocks for biodiesel. The Government of India (GoI) has formulated a national policy on biofuels aiming to achieve a target of 20% blending of
\npetrol and diesel by 2017. Besides reducing the dependence on imported fossil fuels, the policy aims to generate several other benefits like employment for the rural poor,
\nregeneration of wastelands, reduction of emissions resulting from energy use that can lead to positive economic and environmental consequences. Similar, biofuel policies have also been formulated by several countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas (Parthasarathy and Bantilan 2007).