THE FARMER'S POINT OF VIEW
'Hypocritical, silly, and short-sighted'
One of the main criticisms directed against biofuels is that they contribute to the global food crisis. Even in the UK , campaigners say, farmers will find it more profitable to grow biofuel crops than food crops, leading to more imports and higher prices. But Dorset farmer Mike Seare, who turns rapeseed oil into biodiesel, says they’ve got it all wrong.
What do you think of the current food vs fuel debate?
Well, I can understand that argument in times of shortage, but the world was faced with a surplus of food not two years ago, when we were told richly by politicians to go and get lost, really. So, agriculture worldwide decided that we had to find another use for our produce, and fuel seemed an obvious one to use. We started out with starch crops – wheat, barley, and maize, to make bioethanol, and then biodiesel came along, so now we’re growing oilseed rape.
Some environmental organisations are now claiming that more food will have to be imported, because farmers are using more and more of their land for biofuel production, which in turn will push up food prices. Is that the case?
No. First of all, most farmers who grow biofuel crops grow them on what used to be their set-aside land. Which is good, because instead of letting this land go completely fallow, we can now grow industrial crops on it. Also, we grow oilseed because it’s good for rotation. You can’t grow wheat or barley all the time. And finally, I don’t know any farmers who have switched to biofuel production completely. Usually, they only use a small part of their arable land for biofuels. I don’t see how that can have an effect on food prices in Britain.
So, in your opinion, blaming biofuels for the food crisis is wrong?
Yes, absolutely. I mean where is the food crisis? It’s in Africa and in countries like India and Indonesia. But we don’t even export to or import from India or other third-world countries. And now, there’s a rice shortage. Now, what’s that to do with biofuels? Rice isn’t even used for biofuels. I just don’t think the politicians are telling us the truth.
Now, many people in Britain are talking about introducing a moratorium on biofuels. What’s your opinion on that?
A moratorium would be hypocritical and silly, but politicians are notoriously fickle, aren’t they? I mean, if we have two good harvests worldwide, we’re back to where we were. It’s just market forces. When we farmers were getting sixty pounds for a tonne of wheat, we were told: “Well, it’s market forces.” Now we’re getting 200 pounds a tonne, everyone says: “Well, you can’t do that.” I think politicians are very short-sighted. There are vast areas of Russia that have just been brought into production, and if they have a good harvest, the market will be flooded in two years.