ICRISAT, Rusni Distillery to produce Ethanol from sorghum

Hyderabad, Oct 11 (UNI) In a pioneering effort, International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has joined hands with the private Rusni Distillery to produce ethanol from sweet sorghum stalk.

''The news of ICRISAT's breakthrough on producing ethanol from sweet sorghum is creating ripples internationally, being a pioneering venture,'' said ICRISAT Director General William Dar, who recently commissioned the 40,000 per day distillery at a cost of seven million dollar at Mohammed Shahpur village in neighbouring Medak district.

According to an ICRISAT release, with fuel prices skyrocketing, there was increasing demand for bio-fuels like ethanol. ''Sweet sorghum being a water-efficient crop grown in the Semi-Arid Tropics, could be an excellent source for ethanol while still meeting the food, feed and fodder needs of small farmers,'' it said.

The project used ICRISAT's ability in breeding varieties of sorghum with higher content of sugar in their stalk. Through the Agri-Business Incubator, the technology commercialisation arm of ICRISAT, the institute built a successful partnership with Rusni Distrillery to produce ethanol from sweet sorghum, Mr Dar added.

''By linking the distillery with sorghum farmers, we have helped empower small farmers to realise an additional end-use and thereby increase their income and improve livelihood security,'' Dr Dar said, adding that soon the project would benefit 3,000 farmers of Medak district who grow the crop and also generate employment for many.

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