Biofuels, food can be integrated, says expert

06 February 2008 11:00  [Source: ICIS news]

CAIRO (ICIS news)--Biofuels and food production can be developed in harmony into an integrated "food biofuels system", the director of Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said late yesterday afternoon.

 

Brazil had developed a relationship that ensured food and energy security, said Dr Elisio Contini late on Tuesday at the Arab Fertlizer Association Conference here.

  

He dismissed the food versus fuel argument and suggested an integrated system could be applied.

 

“In Brazil sugar/ethanol production does not raise concern about land use. The 5.5m hectares cultivated with sugar cane represents only 8.6% of the total area harvested with food crops," Contini said.

 

“In addition, farmers are increasingly rotating between sugar cane and food crops like tomatoes, soy, peanuts, beans, rice and maize. This approach has helped maintain the balance between energy and food and has improved land profitability,” he added.

 

Contini went on to suggest several ways to improve integration between bioenergy and food production, including growing biomass in less prime agricultural lands and removing international biofuels trade barriers.

 

The key to Brazil’s success, he said, was the requirement the car industry produce vehicles using neat or blended biofuel and also the provision of subsidies for biofuels during market development to allow fair competition with oil products.

 

The conference ends on Thursday.

By: Carl Roache
+44 20 8652 3214

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