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Last month, scientists at the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad in western India published a pan-India livestock methane-emission inventory, the first ever, which put the figure at 11.75 million metric tons per year - higher than the 9 million metric tons estimated in 1994. This amount is likely to increase as higher incomes and consumption rates put pressure on the country's dairy industry to become even more productive. (See pictures of China's cow town...
Already the world's largest producer of milk, India will have to yank up production from the current 100 million metric tons to 180 million metric tons by 2021-22 to keep pace with growing population and expanding disposable incomes. Livestock such as cows, buffalo, goats, sheep, horses and mules are indispensable to India's rural economy - whether the animals are yoked to plow land, raised for milk and manure or harnessed to pull carts to move goods and people. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that livestock contribute 5.3% to total GDP, up from 4.8% during 1980-81. But, says...
...older farm animals are invariably turned out to fend for themselves. Poor-quality feed equals poor animal health as well as higher methane production. Also, even when Western firms are willing to share technology or when Western products are available, these options are often unaffordable for the majority in India. For instance, Monensin, an antibiotic whose slow-release formula reduces methane emission by cows, proved too expensive for widespread use in India. So the emphasis for Indian scientists is on indigenous solutions. "We know we cannot count on high-quality feed and fodder," says Singhal. "No one will be able...
...tannins, substances that make for lathery, bitter meals but block hydrogen availability for methogens. Singhal says the herbs are used in small quantities and the cows don't seem to mind the taste. "Imagine how much potential they'd have in the international market," he says. (See pictures of India's biodegradable dishware...
...fellow at TERI. "Farmers are able to use biogas in their kitchens, to light lamps and to even drive vehicles." Such projects, she says, have been particularly successful at gaushalas, cow shelters supported by donations from the devout and by government grants, of which there are 4,000 across India. Most gaushalas are for abandoned, dry and aged cattle, of which there are many, since killing cows is illegal in all but two states (the communist-ruled West Bengal and Kerala). "This way they are put to some use at least," says Rajeshwari. "And by replacing conventional sources of energy...