Bangladesh Agriculture Minister bashes biofuels

Bangladeshi Minister of Agriculture Matia Chowdhury has criticised large multinational corporations for promoting biofuels.

The minister spoke at a keynote on the 40^th anniversary of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C., US.

Chowdhury pointed out that diverting more land to be used for maize cultivation results in a reduced soyabean and wheat cultivation.

The multinationals’ promotion of biofuels as an ecological and environmentally friendly option is ‘ironic’ when 2,500l of water are required to produce one litre of biofuel, she claims.

‘Policies that promote biofuels have diverted large quantities of food out of food markets and committed them to the pursuit of relatively small amount of transport fuel,’ Minister Chowdhury said at the conference.

She said that while Bangladesh receives policy advice and funding from international organisations, ‘unhelpful’ policies, such as biofuels production, can hinder the country’s ultimate goal of providing food security for all its residents.