Gobar-Dhan Has Solved India's Energy Crisis & Doubled Farmers' Income, Thanks To Modi Govt’s Cow Dung Initiative

The Narendra Modi-led government introduced a new bovine-centric scheme in February 2018 to help India achieve its dual goals of increasing farmer income and providing renewable energy.

GOBAR-DHAN was established as an extension of India's cleanliness drive, Swachh Bharat Mission, focusing on keeping villages clean, providing a clear money stream for rural households, and generating electricity from cattle manure.

The Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBAR-DHAN) initiative intends to boost farmers' income by turning biodegradable waste into compressed biogas (CBG). It also wants to entice entrepreneurs to set up community-based CBG facilities in rural regions.

Cows have always been revered by India's Hindu people. Despite government efforts to phase it out with subsidised gas cylinders, rural communities have used sun-dried cow dung as a fuel to heat stoves for years.

Indian farmers are finally experiencing the advantages of continuing with their age-old habit, four years after the start.

Villages on the outskirts of the central Indian city of Indore are being generously rewarded for giving over their mounds of livestock waste in a trial initiative to help satisfy the city's electricity demands, according to AFP.

A 46-year-old farmer claimed to have sold over a dozen truckloads of fresh manure for $235 per shipment, which is more than the typical Indian farmer's monthly income.

"We have really excellent quality dung, and we maintain the dung clean to guarantee it receives the greatest price," AFP quoted Suresh Sisodia as stating.

Cattle dung and household trash are brought to the facility as part of the initiative, which produces combustible methane gas and an organic residue that may be utilized as fertilizer.

Even though the plant's input capacity is currently restricted, officials are seeking to raise it to 500 tonnes of waste every day, including at least 25 tonnes of bovine waste to power the city's public transportation system with plenty left over.

"Half will run Indore buses, and the other half will be supplied to industrial clients," said Nitesh Kumar Tripathi, the plant's boss.