Location and geographical characteristics. Figure 40: Study sites in India Source: Biocore WP1 Final Report, Aug. 2012 As already mentioned, the two selected districts of the Indian case study region are Sangrur- Barnala and Faridkot. Sangrur and Barnala are basically adjacent districts in Southern Punjab. The climate of the area is usually dry and is characterised by a short monsoon. On average, the region experiences 27 rainy days (i.e. days with rainfall of 2.5 mm or more) in a year. The available land in the Sangrur-Barnala region is about 500,000 hectares, while that in Faridkot is 150,000 hectares.
Location and geographical characteristics. The Hungarian study area comprises four counties, viz. Baranya, Somogy, Tolna and Zala. The average altitude for Baranya, Somogy and Zala are 44 m, 108 m and 144 m respectively from the sea levels. Average annual temperature in Baranya usually varied from 6.2-15.1 degree celcius. Average rainfall in Baranya is 619 mm and on average there are about 98 rainy days (precipitation > 0.1 mm). Most rainfall is available in the months of May-August.7 Figure 41: Study area in Hungary Source: Biocore WP1 Final Report, Aug. 2012 The Hungarian case study region has a diverse agricultural production, which is undertaken on a land of 1,600,000 hectares. The majority of the land is arable land with 1,000,000 ha of utilised agricultural area (UAA), out of which 610,000 ha is used for annual crops. The majority of the cultivators in the region are large farmers8. Maize (UAA of 335,000 ha) is the most important annual crop followed by wheat (190,000 ha), barley (53,000 ha) and others9 (29,000 ha). The UAA of perennial crops and SRC are 40,000 ha and 3,500 ha, respectively. Apart from these, there are natural and temporary grasslands of 7,000 ha and 95,000 ha, respectively. The raw material to be procured from the Hungarian case study will be a mix of straw (both maize and wheat), hardwood and SRC (poplar) a in 3:1:1 ratio.10 However, 20 percent of the straw generated in the region can be available for the proposed plant because of high biomass competition.
Location and geographical characteristics. The Beauce is the French study region located in central France. The Beauce region is surrounded by Maintenon in the North, Châteaudun in the West, Rleans in the South and Malesherhes in the East. The distance to Paris is about 100 km. It covers the area of four departments, viz., Loiret, Xxxx-et-Loir, Essonne and Yvelines. The Beauce is a vast plateau and part of the Paris Basin. Many rivers flow through the area. The Beauce is characterized by silt soils and flat area. It is a relatively dry region (average annual rainfall 550 mm). The average altitude is 140 meters.12 The average temperature varies between 7.5-15.5 degree 8 Biocore WP1 Final Report, Aug. 2012 9Others include rye, triticale, oat 10 Biocore WP1 Final Report, Aug. 2012 11 xxxx://xx.xxxxxxxxx.xxx/wiki/Counties_of_Hungary 12 Biocore WP1 Final Report, Aug. 2012 xxxxxxx. On an average there are 164 rainy days (precipitation > 0.1 mm) in a year. The high rainfall months in the year are May-August.13 Figure 42: Beauce location Source: Biocore WP1 Final Report, Aug. 2012 In the French study region, agriculture is practiced on 0.8 million hectares of land out of a total land area of 0.9 million. Among the agricultural land, 0.6 million hectares are used for annual crops. Cereals are the major crops in the Beauce region with an average yield of 10 tons per hectare. Some of the main crops grown in the area are: soft wheat (50%), rapeseed (15%), barley (15%) and maize (5%). The local agricultural market is well developed. All farmers in the region receive CAP subsidies, but no price guarantee is available. Organic farming currently represents less than 3 percent of the UAA. The major competitive use of straw in the region is 66 percent of SOC maintainence and 10 percent of export to the nearby breeding region (for bedding or feeding). The remaininig straw can be used as raw materials in the plant.
