In last week's Motors George Monbiot argued against biofuels. Here, Padraig Walsh, President of the IFA, replies
The assertion by George Monbiot in last week's Motors supplement that the environment and people would lose out in the development of renewable energy crops is simply wrong and must be challenged.
Take the environment. At present, over four million hectares of land is under compulsory set-aside and a further 3.2 million hectares are abandoned because it is not considered profitable. The EU Commission has set a target of 5.75 per cent for transport bio-fuels by 2010, a target that requires the production of 24 million tonnes of bio-fuels from 15-18 million hectares.
Thus, nearly half the land-mass required is already available without any consequences for the production of arable crops. The EU produces approximately 250 million tonnes of grain annually from a land base of 50 million hectares. Of this, a further 25 million tonnes is exported annually. Converting this export surplus could potentially release a further five million hectares into bio-fuels production. As a sobering antidote to the hype about arable crop prices in the last 12 months, it is worth remembering that returns from grain production have fallen consistently since 1995, resulting in a switch away from arable production.
In Ireland, almost 150,000 hectares have been taken out of arable production in the last 23 years. Despite this, grain production has remained static at two million tonnes as technology and husbandry practices have improved. The emergence of an alternative market for arable crops will not have the impact that Monbiot claims.
For example, the farmer's share of the standard loaf of bread at 111 cent (a staple food) is just over 9 cent for the wheat used to make the main ingredient of bread, flour. This year's €20 per tonne rise in wheat prices to farmers equates to about €30 per tonne in flour prices and no more than 1.4 cent per loaf of bread. In the case of a pint, the impact of any price rise in barley is even more miniscule. The publican, the Government, the brewers and the malsters' share of the pint accounts for 99.8 per cent of the price, leaving only 0.2 per cent for the grower (less than 1 cent).
Both examples illustrate that even a dramatic switch in end use of arable crops to bio-fuel production, and a subsequent price rise, would not have the predicted consequences for consumers. If we agree on anything with Monbiot, it is with his concern for the destruction of rainforest to make way for palm plantations in the tropics.
Our attempts to have phyto-sanitary and environmental issues raised in the WTO talks have not been given the appropriate attention that is needed if any trade deal is to recognise the importance of addressing climate change and sustainable production.
The EU should lead the way in promoting sustainable bio-fuel production. The production of bio-fuels from crops in Europe will give potential energy savings for the whole production chain, of 65 per cent for bio-diesel from oilseed rape and 61 per cent for bio-ethanol from wheat. In addition, they will provide greenhouse gas emission savings of 53 per cent and 64 per cent respectively.
Policy makers must send a strong signal to car manufacturers that bio-fuels have a future and the adoption of first generation bio-fuels will accelerate the move towards the commercialisation of second generation bio-fuels.