XXXI Abstracts Part 1 page 1-189

Vegetable 4 4000 200(fresh wt)
Food Grains20 5000 80(Grain)
Pulses & fodder 10 300 100
Sweet Sorghum20 5000 400
Nitrogen 10 3000 100
Fixing Species
94 ha 2800 1120
dry matter coal equivalent
biomass energy
The water requirement is based on annual average water availability. Therefore, irrigation system should be
designed for additional 50% irrigation delivery
The primary gram sabha, which adopts land use and water allocation policy according to proposed criteria, would
get preferred EA allotment under the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act). Additional employment
assistance (EA) would be made available as required to create food security & production of biomass energy of different
categories as explained earlier.
Next step is to identify privately owned land of low productivity, preferably located near irrigated areas. Opportunity
should be explored for extending irrigation services & augmentation of water sources.
Focus should be on creating awareness of opportunities for creating livelihood security & building biomass energy
resource base through appropriate land use & priority water allocation. The process of negotiation can then be initiated for
benefit sharing between poor/ disadvantaged & asset holding house holds. The focus in pilot projects should be on
establishing that equitable distribution of benefits of new assets and productivity improvement, enhancing water use
efficiency & building new asset will benefit every body so that distribution can be a positive sum game.
In practice, time lags in building capabilities are unavoidable. The benefit sharing agreements cannot be effective
till there is a consensus within the community on priority of land use, water allocation and use of EA. It is also a matter of
attitudinal change and building enduring institutions for conflict management, enforcing rules regarding benefit sharing. This
calls for priority allocation of EA and credit to bring about cost reduction and enhancing the market share of the local
produce in the rural, urban and small town market. Management capabilities also need to be acquired which takes time. The
revolving fund as an interest free loan is needed to bridge the income gap during the time required to take care of the time
lag.
Building Nature’s Capital
Protection and care is vital for building and sustaining the bioresource base, otherwise, uncontrolled grazing and
over exploitation will destroy the vegetation. Depositors [asset holding households such as land owners], can contribute to
building the bio mass bank by depositing wood, bamboo, fibers in the biomass bank. This would ensure long term stability of
supply of biomass needed for value added processing in biomass based industries.
The biomass bank and leasing company are the social instruments to motivate the rural poor, small farmers and
artisanal enterprises to use EA [employment assistance] and credit to build ‘natural capital’ in the form of biomass and solar
energy [in various forms i.e thermal, hydro, wind, small hydro].
Generally land owners are indifferent about the building of the biomass energy resource base because of the
degraded condition of land and the meager income they get from the land due to encroachment by the poor who utilize the
biomass for meeting their fuel wood needs .The situation would change radically if groups of poor in the neighbourhood
,organized as labour co-operatives micro credit groups SHG[self help groups], are entitled to get EA [employment
assistance] and use it for land development, fencing and soil improvement for producing energy crops and establishing
plantations. Benefit sharing agreements will motivate them to take responsibility of protection, and giving attention to
enhancement and sustenance of high levels of productivity and water use efficiency. The depositors can participate by
providing capital on terms, which are mutually beneficial, to the groups of women and labour cooperatives, which need
investment for irrigation to achieve desired levels of productivity of biomass.