Local communities in the Hassan District of Karnataka State, India have received small-scale oil-producing machines as part of the World Agroforestry Centre’s Programme for the Development of Alternative Biofuel Crops.

The machines, manufactured by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (UASB), will be used by people in 20 villages to process oil seed into energy.

The machines were presented to community members during a workshop in early January on Sustainable Rural Biofuel Energy Options: A Dialogue with Farmers.

During the workshop, Karnataka’s Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Krishna Byre Gowda, emphasized the importance of growing oil seed trees to meet the local energy needs of the rural poor. He also spoke about the other benefits of the trees, such as soil protection and restoration, and improved water percolation.

The Centre’s Biofuel Programme in India focuses on research into sustainable agroforestry models that provide multiple benefits to farmers, such as biofuels for energy production and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The agroforestry models center around growing oilseed species on underutilized land in ways that are compatible with food crop and livestock production.

For more information on the programme, visit: http://worldagroforestry.org/research/alternative-biofuel-crops

[based on an article by Gulshan Borah]