Kalam at the interactive session with farmers. Telegraph picture

Raipur, Nov. 7: Bio-fuel could usher in a veritable revolution in India’s oil sector and the country has chalked out a plan to produce 60-million tonne bio-fuel per annum by 2030.

President A.P.J. Kalam — who was here as the chief guest of the concluding function of the state’s sixth foundation anniversary — said as much as he interacted with the farmers cultivating Jatropha, a rich source of bio-fuel, in Sundarkera village about 30 km from the Raipur. “I am impressed to see the mass cultivation of jatropha in Chhattisgarh,” Kalam said after his tête-à-tête with the fuel producers.

“Jatropha is a vital plant for bio-diesel and farmers should use saplings with high oil-content quality. They must trim the plants at the right time in the first one year to split the tree into at least in 60 branches, so that a single tree can produce 400 gram seeds in a year,” Kalam also gave some valuable tips to the farmers.

Wishing them good luck for scripting a bio-diesel revolution in the country, Kalam said that with limited research so far in the bio-diesel sector, India is aiming to produce 6 million tonnes of bio-diesel annually by 2010 and a whopping 60 million tonnes by 2030.

The President added that government and private sector majors should enhance research in the bio-fuel sector and besides concentrating on the production, emphasis should also be given to marketing and processing.

The government, he added, should take care of the financial aspects of the jatropha growers, including looking after proper marketing and aid in jatropha irrigation.

Chief minister Raman Singh was quick to respond and immediately announced a 75 per cent subsidy to farmers for jatropha irrigation through drip and sprinkling system.