State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is planning to enter into contract farming agreements with farmers for cultivation of bio-fuel producing plant jatropha.
?We are in touch with farmers in a northern state and would soon enter into a contract for cultivation of the plant,? BPCL executive director AK Bansal said a conference organised by consultancy firm Frost and Sullivan here on Monday .
He said farmers, oil companies and government should work together for the success of the programme that envisages doping of diesel with non-edible oil to reduce the country?s oil import bill. Further, doping of auto-fuel with bio-fuels could considerably reduce carbon emissions by private vehicles, he added.
Bansal urged the government to allocate subsidy for cultivation of jatropha, extraction of oil from its seeds and blending the non-edible oil in diesel. Local bodies and village panchayats should also be involved in the programme, he said.
About 30-40% of biofuel can be blended with petrol and diesel against the present 5% (particularly in case of ethanol).