news/updates
Food-vs-biofuel debate belittled
By Maria Kristina C. Conti and E. B. Dorente
BusinessWorld
January 18, 2008
Key segments of the agriculture industry have risen to the defense of bio-fuels, as the debates over food security are rekindled by the legislature.
Yesterday, feedstock producers for both biodiesel and bioethanol said the industry is creating an outlet for excess harvests. At a roundtable discussion with farmers, Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said, "biofuels will be an alternative to current demands in agriculture. If farmers have alternatives, that means their incomes will increase and they will have additional economic activity."
He stressed that biofuel crops are value-added. "The farmers will go where they will profit," he said.
"We have a lot of foreign investments for biofuel refineries already. We have at least $600 million. We [have to act], we can’t debate all the time," said Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) Chairman Renato S. Velasco at the forum.
The agency is banking on the cheaper jatropha to supplement, if not replace, coconut as biodiesel feedstock.
"Jatropha is not food," Mr. Velasco also stressed.
Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, who championed the Biofuels Act in Congress, cited jatropha’s many uses. "Jatropha can be used to reforest denuded areas," he said yesterday. "This will not only be about biodiesel production but also about livelihood, employment and reforestation programs all rolled into one."
A coalition of sugar producers, the Sugar Alliance of the Philippines, is also throwing its support for biofuels. Sugarcane, as well as sweet sorghum and cassava, are the top feedstock choices for bioethanol.
In a separate press conference yesterday, Sugar Alliance member and Philippine Sugar Millers Association Executive Vice-President V. Francisco Varua said the emerging industry provides an alternative market for sugar.
"For the past five years, we have been producing sugar in excess of domestic market demand. We produce 2.2 million metric tons annually, and we export [a fraction] to the world market and the US," he said.
Problem is, Mr. Varua continues, sugar producers are forced to sell the commodity internationally at a price 50% lower than domestic levels. "Sugar prices on the world market are volatile, and they are too low," he noted.
The Sugar Alliance is also painfully aware of a 2010 commitment in the ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement which removes tariffs on imported sugar. "By that time, cheap imported sugar will flood our markets, and we cannot survive as planters," said Jose Ma. R. Zubiri, president of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations.
Panel members in both fora said the food-versus-fuel debate should not affect the Philippines.
Jatropha is inedible, and sugar is merely a food additive, Mr. Yap said.
Mr. Velasco agreed, saying it is not fair to pit feedstock use for fuels against use for food. "They’re apples and oranges," he said.
