World Bank bats for dairy dung energy policy in India

A World Bank research report has batted for a dairy dung energy policy in India to foster socio-economic development through increased incomes and biogas sterilisation. It added a proper policy in this regard could create 1.9 million full-time jobs.

Between 2009 and 2012, the global environmental goods and services (EGS) industry has grown 10.5 per cent to $858 billion in revenue, says the report, Greening Global Value Chains: Some Implementation Challenges.

The US accounts for 38 per cent of the global EGS industry, Japan 17 per cent, China three per cent and India 2.5 per cent.

The report says despite the recent economic downturn, employment in EGS-related activities has fared well. The EGS industry employs about 1.7 million people and accounts for 2.7 per cent of gross domestic product in the US and Europe.

Though developed countries have been net exporters of EGS, with growth in exporters such as Brazil, China and India, the trade was becoming more balanced, the report added.

It said a dairy dung energy policy would foster greener supply chains and socio-economic development, provide basic energy needs and help tackle key dairy quantity and quality bottlenecks in India through increased income and biogas sterilisation.

"Cow dung drives a shadow economy of national importance, employing, most informally, half the number of workers in the dairy sector. While a buffalo can produce up to 15 litres of milk daily, it also produces 30 kg of dung, equivalent to three litres of crude oil," the report said.

It added, though 40,0000 jobs might be lost in low-productivity dung cake-making, with the right transition policies for those affected (mostly women dung cake makers), they could be retrained and re-employed in the production of organic fertiliser from the slurry of the biogas plants.