New Delhi, May 11 -- A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly appealed for the public to cut down the use of transport fuel, economists and farmer groups said agriculture was a prime sector that could scale back diesel consumption.

Apart from private, public and commercial transport, diesel is used in agriculture and industries. India's farm sector accounts for about two-fifths of the country's annual diesel demand of about 92 million tonnes.

With concerns mounting over fuel costs and energy security, policymakers and experts are increasingly advocating rationalization of diesel consumption in the agriculture sector by promoting cleaner and cost-effective alternatives such as biofuels, biomass and compressed biogas (CBG).

"The...