Benedito Mendonça, Agência Brasil

Minister of Agrarian Development, Miguel Rossetto, reports that the Biodiesel Program has a budget of US$34.1 million (R$100 million) to finance crop planting and technical assistance. Rossetto says the goal is to cultivate 150,000 hectares which will provide 30,000 families with work by the end of this year, reducing poverty in rural areas.

The castor oil plant is the star of the program. "Biodiesel is a strategic project for the country. It is a renewable source of energy that is clean and cheap. It reduces our dependency on imported fuels. And with low levels of pollution, it is appropriate for use in urban centers," said the minister.

Research project

The PSA Peugeot Citroën and Ladetel group, in partnership with the University of São Paulo, has been running a research project on the use of a fuel made from soybean extract (biodiesel etílico de soja). Preliminary results (after 100,000 kilometers of testing to be followed by an additional 60,000 kilometers) have been positive. Pollution was reduced by 16% and motors using the fuel did not present any problems; in fact, their performance was equivalent to that of gasoline-run engines.

Miguel Dobdoub, who is running the research project, says that the benefits of biodiesel go far beyond the fact that it is environmentally friendly. Biodiesel, he says, will create jobs and reduce the migration of the rural population to urban centers. It will also strengthen family farming, reduce imports of diesel and give consumers a greater sense of satisfaction.

Translator: Allen Bennett