Biofuel targets can be met, says Barroso

THE minimum 10% target for biofuels by 2020, proposed in the European Union’s roadmap for renewable energy, is feasible without creating unmanageable tensions between food and non-food production.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso who made the comment at Green Week in Berlin, said the EU has adopted a highly ambitious energy strategy.

At the heart of it is a mandatory target of supplying 20% of energy consumption from renewable sources.

“It will have a positive impact on agricultural income and land use. It will also halt the trend of converting agricultural land to other uses,” he said.

Mr Barroso told farmers they will have a greater role to play in the energy revolution that is about to take place.

“Agriculture, traditionally our source of nourishment, will acquire an additional function in the future as a source of bioenergy,” he said.

Mr Barroso said that in the face of these new energy and environmental challenges, the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will come into its own.

It is already encouraging farmers to grow energy crops by measures such as decoupling direct aid, the specific energy crops scheme and the possibility of using set-aside for the cultivation of non-food crops.

“Bioenergy could prove to be a strong card for the future of European farmers. It provides them with an opportunity to produce with an eye to the market,” he said.