AGM to discuss bio-fuel option
It follows a decision by the European Commission yesterday to adopt an ambitious strategy to boost production of fuels from agricultural raw materials.
EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said there has never been a better moment to push the case for bio-fuels.
“Crude oil prices remain high. We face stringent targets under the Kyoto Protocol and the recent controversy over imports of Russian gas has underlined the importance of increasing Europe’s energy self-sufficiency.
“Raw materials for bio-fuel production also provide a potential new outlet for Europe’s farmers, who have been freed by CAP reform to become true entrepreneurs,” she said.
Beet growers, meanwhile, plan to protest outside the Greencore meeting as part of their campaign to secure full compensation for losses arising from the EU reform of the industry.
The Irish Farmers Association has accused Greencore of planning a massive “cash grab” of beet growers’ compensation for the shutdown of the sugar industry in Ireland. The association has urged Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan to make an early decision, allocating the restructuring fund to growers who have lost their livelihoods.
IFA president Padraig Walshe said that, in negotiations on beet price over the past ten years, Greencore Sugar has consistently denied making super profits of €25m a year out of beet processing. But it is asking Ms Coughlan to accept a monopolistic profit figure of €25m as the basis for its “cash grab.”
Mr Walshe said that by closing Carlow sugar factory prematurely, Greencore damaged Ireland’s negotiating stance on the reforms and the livelihoods of half the beet growers in the country.
