Sustainable and Socio-Technological Systems in Biofuels Production in Central India

Biofuels are not only promised with ecological sustainability, energy security and accessibility, and better economic returns for small farmers but also promoted as a “scientific” way of doing agriculture and managing the land. However, such promotions and promises need to be understood that a non-commercial crop—Jatropha Curcas—constructed into a commodity through the National Mission on Biodiesel in India; and traversed and expanded in networks between state policies, corporate influence, farmers’ interests, regional aspirations, and the technological accessibility. Following sociology of science and technology perspectives, an attempt has been made to identify and understand the presence of socio-technological conditions responsible for different or even contradictory trajectories of Jatropha cultivation and biofuel production in India. What are the local agricultural practices and knowledge; and, whether techno-scientific interventions, in the name of scientific way of doing agriculture, are contributing to sustainability in ecological and economic dimensions. An extended field study was conducted at two blocks in Chhattisgarh – one is located in an Adivasi region and another in an industrial region. Data were collected through a combination of literature review, discussions, key informant interviews, and personal observation. An attempt is made to understand the impediments and risks involved in the cultivation of biofuels and its implications emanating from the cultivation.