Policy needed for biofuel research
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05/09/2008
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Deccan Herald (Bangalore)
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Minister for Medical Education Ramachandre Gowda underlined the need to develop alternative sustainable forms of energy that would be able to fulfil the requirement of the large population.
Addressing a seminar on bio-diesel and ethanol as sources of renewable energy in the City on Friday he said that there should be definitive policy from the state and central government to encourage research into bio fuels. At the present rate of research, alternate sources of fuel would be insufficient to meet the demands, he maintained. People should prepare themselves for tough times, to deal with scarcity, he said.
Speaking about the difficulty in maintaining a balance between food and biofuel production, Deputy Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Dr Nawab Ali said that introducing or expanding biofuel crops would cause major land changes and would compete with food crops in productive regions.
Duty
He also said that it was the duty of policy makers to protect the poor from rising commodity prices in case of crop produce being diverted for bio-fuel. He stressed the need for a strong policy research so that there would be no competition between food and biofuel crops.
He also suggested enhancing regional co-ordination of R&D efforts on bio energy in the Asia Pacific region and facilitate research and networking.