Energy Growth Linkage and Strategy for Meeting the Energy Demand in Indian Agriculture

The relationship between energy-use and agricultural production has been examined for major states in India. The study has indicated that high-productivity states like Punjab and Haryana use energy more than seven-times as compared to the low-productivity states like Odisha (4 GJ/ha). The paper has demonstrated that the use of energy-intensive inputs is higher on marginal farms than on large farms. The energy-related foresight exercise has suggested that the energy requirement in Indian agriculture will be double of the present consumption level (22 million tonnes of oil equivalent) for achieving 280 Mt of foodgrains production by 2020. The enhanced farm energy demand will call for a robust energy policy which should ensure reliable supply of energy to the agricultural sector, particularly to small farmers at affordable cost. The policy should also aim to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by replacing fossil fuel by renewable energy sources like crop residues and solar energy. The preliminary analysis has indicated that the system of rice intensification (SRI) method is more energy-efficient as compared to transplanted rice.