The objectives of the study were accomplished through a combination of secondary and primary research. In-depth interviews were conducted as part of qualitative survey across target segments like subject experts, farmers, user industries, government departments, NGOs, farmer cooperatives, local Govt. offices, mandis etc. IMRB researchers had visited the areas where biomass resources are grown and directly interacted with the target segments.

Structured interviews were conducted among farmers growing one or more crops. The quantitative survey was executed across 14 states of India through IMRB’s field offices. Field interviewers trained by core research team conducted the structured interviews.

Over 700 interviews were conducted as part of the study. Following are some of the key findings from the study.

Crop Production

After studying the crop production in India, it was found that sugarcane, rice and wheat are the most grown crops in India accounting for over 91% of the production of crops considered in this study. Even a small % of surplus residue generated from these crops results in a substantial figure.

Crop Residue Generation

The amount of residue generated by each crop in India has been tabulated & illustrated in detail in the study.

Crop Residue Consumption

Rice, Wheat, Maize, Jowar, Ragi and Bajra residue are mainly used as cattle fodder. Cotton, chilli, pulses and oilseeds residues are mainly used as fuel for household needs. Rice husk is mainly used in boilers as fuel and bagasse mainly for power or paper production. The crop residue consumption in India has been covered in detail in the study.

Crop Residue Surplus

An interesting findings emerged from the study as, Sugarcane tops is the most surplus residue as it is mostly burnt in the fields itself. Other fuel crops like Cotton, Chilli, Pulses and Oilseeds generate surplus because they do not have much other use apart from fuel. These residues are typically burnt in the fields or used to meet household energy needs by farmers. As India makes further economic progress, farmers are likely to shift to modern fuels like kerosene. This will further increase availability of such crop residues. An additional 4 MMT of bamboo plant would be available as potential biomass. There is very little surplus from fodder crops as it is consumed by cattle.

Surplus Crop Residue Density

The biomass surplus density i.e. surplus availability (MT) per kilometer square area for various states have been covered in detail in the study. It was found that Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu are leading states based on per sq. km availability of biomass.