PIA Press Release
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Gov't agencies allocate 50,000 hectares solely for biofuel production-DOEby Andrea R. Bancud QUEZON CITY, Jan 18 (PIA) -- Government agencies have agreed to allocate 50,000 hectares of land for bio-fuel production. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras said that this was one of the highlights of the first Philippine International BioEnergy Conference held last January 12 to 13. Secretary Almendras made the statement during today’s edition of Communication and News Exchange Forum (CNEX). (RDA/ARB/PIA-GHQ) “Hindi pwedeng makipag-compete ang biofuel sa food. Napakaganda at nagkasundo ang Department of Agriculture (DA), Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA), at DOE na para walang gulo, we will identify areas na talagang para sa bio fuel production. Hindi namin tatapyasan ang agricultural areas for food,” Almendras added. (Bio-fuel must not compete with food production. It is a good thing that the DA, SRA, and DOE have agreed that we will identify areas exclusively for bio-fuel production.) Almendras said that the contract farming model may be used to expand bio-fuel production, as this will guarantee income of farmers. He compared it to crop farming where the DA would be buying the crops straight from the farmers. He added that in the next 18 months, the DA will identify another 50,000 hectares for biofuel production. CNEX is a weekly TV program produced by Philippine Information Agency, PTV 4 and Philippine Communications Operations Office. | 
