Matia critical of biofuel use
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury has criticised the policy recommendations of various international organisations to use biofuels and questioned the feasibility and sustainability of using them to attain food security.
Delivering a keynote speech on “Evolution of Food Policy” at the 40th anniversary of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington DC Wednesday, Matia showed how the expansion of biofuels use had led to massive diversion of maize to ethanol production, reducing the maize supply for consumption as food, and thus causing the maize price to rise rapidly.
A sharp increase in land for maize cultivation has also resulted in reduced soybean and wheat cultivation, she added.
"It is quite ironic that some multinational corporations still promote biofuels as an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels when 2,500 litres of water are required to produce a mere one litre of biofuel," the minister said.
Although Bangladesh has made good progress in agriculture and economic growth, the country is increasingly facing challenges of population growth, climate change impacts and vulnerability to domestic and international price shocks, she added.
Government leaders, agriculture scientists and economists from the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Chile, Brazil, Ethiopia, China, India and Pakistan attended the conference, split into different working sessions on food security, agriculture and nutrition, market, trade and macro-policies.
Comments