- Cactus research in Jhansi aims to boost the production of the spineless fodder cacti to improve farmers’ income as rhe cacti can be used for fodder, food, fibre, fertiliser and fuel.
- Research organisations working on this are planning to produce biogas from the cactus slurry in Bundelkhand using a viable alternative to traditional feedstocks such as cow dung that produces 65% biomethane.
- After a small-scale study with cactus slurry achieving up to 61% methane content in biogas production, scientists involved in the experiment are hopeful that it can be a commercially viable option.
To enhance the production of biogas in Uttar Pradesh’s semi-arid region of Bundelkhand, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI) and International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) are pioneering a transformation in agricultural practices with the spineless fodder cactus in Jhansi.
Germplasm of 15 varieties of spineless cacti, locally known as Nagphani, were imported from countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Tunisia and Italy back in 2014 to experiment with growing the varieties here to substitute the need for green fodder during summers.
“Apart from fodder, the plant also has several other uses,” said D. R. Palsaniya, Head and Principal Scientist, Agronomy, IGFRI.
“The plant is used for five ‘Fs’ that stand for fodder, food, fibre, fertiliser and fuel. The fruit of this cactus, known as prickly pear, is eaten as fruit in many countries while the cactus has also found uses in manufacturing vegan leather. The slurry of the cactus when mixed with cow dung makes for good, organic fertiliser while also producing biofuel,” he said.
After conducting feeding trials on various herbivores in the IGFRI campus, the scientists found that the cactus could be mixed with any kind of fodder to substitute 30% of the dry-matter requirement of the animals and provide enough water content in summer.
Prince Jain, a local farmer and resident of Sakrar village near Jhansi, who has grown this cactus on a rocky piece of land near his cowshed, told Mongabay India that he has started feeding it to stray cows he takes care of in the cowshed.
“When IGFRI started experimenting with this cactus and distributed the saplings to local farmers, I decided to grow them on a rocky piece of land, unfit for cultivation. These cacti need the least maintenance care and keep growing throughout the year. I mix this with dry fodder, as per the ratio told by the scientists at IGFRI and the stray cows here have developed a taste for it,” said Jain.
This plant is now the focal point of research aimed at harnessing its potential for biogas generation, marking a significant stride towards renewable energy amidst the climate change crisis.
As per a 2022 report by the Centre for Science and Environment, Uttar Pradesh had 100 compressed biogas projects underway, the highest in the country. It adds that due to the ample amount of organic feedstock available for the production of biomethane, it has the potential to set up around 1,000 such plants in future.
But the scenario for the Bundelkhand belt differs significantly from the rest of the state due to its climatic conditions. As the region is not known for growing paddy, a water-intensive crop that majorly contributes to producing the stubble that can be used for the production of biogas, scientists at IGFRI are experimenting with the spineless fodder cactus to produce biogas with the help of ICARDA, a non-profit agricultural research institute that aims to improve the livelihoods of the resource-poor communities across the world’s dry areas.
“We identified the accessions best suitable for the Bundelkhand climate as it is a semi-arid climate and these xerophytic plants (plants that are adapted to survive in arid regions like desert) thrive in this environment. We then expanded our area of research to see if the species produces enough methane for commercial uses,” said Palsaniya.
To find out if the cactus could generate enough bio-methane, Neha Tiwari, National Associate Scientist at ICARDA, conducted the first experiment to produce biogas from this cactus at ICARDA’s Amlaha campus in Madhya Pradesh last year. The cactus samples from the Amlaha campus were used to produce biogas in a small plant, in natural conditions.
Tiwari told Mongabay India that they started with 100% cow dung to get the system started and then started reducing the quantity of cow dung and substituting cactus slurry in small instalments.
“We began with 100% cow-dung, then reduced it to 90% with 10% cactus slurry, then reduced the cow-dung further and gradually with 90% cactus slurry and just 10% cow-dung, we got around 60 to 61% of methane, which is a good quantity and can be commercially viable. We get around 65% bio-methane from cow dung but the availability of cow dung in such a quantity is a challenge, especially in the Bundelkhand region,” she said.
She added, “We had to keep some quantity of cow dung as it has the bacteria that help in breakdown of the raw material which takes the process further. This is a pretty good quantity in natural conditions. We think it could even be higher if it is done in insulated fermenters.”
After the success of the small-scale study in Madhya Pradesh’s Amlaha, IGFRI in collaboration with the state government of Rajasthan, the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and ICARDA planted the cacti in a 1.5-hectare farm in Hingonia, Rajasthan, near its biogas plant in 2023.
“Since we did not have a biogas plant here in IGFRI, we decided to grow the cacti in Hingonia, a small village near Jaipur. Once they are big enough to be harvested, we will conduct a pilot experiment at a bigger level to understand the success and pitfalls,” added Palsaniya.
To make it fitter for use in fodder as well as for biogas production, the scientists at IGFRI are trying to increase the yield and the biomass in the cacti with various experiments at their Jhansi campus.
“We are trying the drip-irrigation method and adding fertilisers to the soil to increase the cactus biomass as it will help generate more biogas and will be a better substitute for green fodder. We are in the initial stages of trial and will get more clarity in the coming years,” said Palsaniya.
But despite IGFRI’s many efforts to engage and motivate local farmers to grow this species of cactus on their farm fences, farmers and even dairy farmers have not started adopting this.
“We distributed free samples to the farmers to grow on their farm fences or on uncultivated land that they own but this is not catching on due to the absence of market linkages and buyers,” he added.
Palsaniya added that while the Department of Land Resources is promoting the use of cactus in its Watershed Development Component-Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, farmers here have no access to buyers like companies and government agencies working to promote its use in biofuel.
“There is also a lack of awareness and some practical challenges in growing this as the saplings are eaten by stray animals when they are planted in wastelands. But monetising it remains the biggest challenge. When someone like Prince Jain succeeds, many more will follow,” he concluded.
This story was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.
Banner image: Spineless fodder cactus growing in the IGFRI campus in Jhansi. Image by Shuchita Jha.
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