DA to use 10T hectares of land for biofuel plants

Over 10,000 hectares of land are being identified by the Department of Agriculture in the Visayas to be used as lands for sources of alternative fuel.

DA regional director Eduardo Lecciones said the agency is identifying 10,000 hectares in the Central Philippines to plant crops that will be used as feedstock for biofuel production.

DA, Lecciones said, is now in the process of identifying private sector investments with more than 400,000 hectares of land all over the Philippines for such a purpose.

The lands will be planted to cassava, oil palm, coconut, sugarcane, jathropa, and other crops used as feedstock for biofuel production.

About 90,000 hectares are located in the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle; and 300,000 in Agribusiness Mindanao.

According to him the lands being processed already represent 78 percent of the 600,000 hectares target for this year.

Because of the growing global demand for crops-based alternative clean fuels will further boost the Philippine farm sector as well as increase the profitability of small stakeholders.

This will also reduce the country’s dependence on imported energy sources.

With the coming of new investors, farmers stand to earn more through profit-sharing and guaranteed income packages or straight purchases of harvested crops.

They will also benefit from new planting technologies that will create more jobs and boost production.

Cause oriented groups support the thrust of the government to go into massive production of crops to produce green alternative fuel rather than go into environmentally damaging ventures on mining for oil and other mineral sources of energy.  — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP