The Agribusiness Technology São Paulo Agency (Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios, APTA), Ribeirão Preto chapter, is conducting a research to plant eight types of beans between the sugar cane lines. Not only this is brings another wealth source to the producer but at the same time it raises the food production.

Mr. Denizart Bolonhesi, APTA researcher, began to work on the project after contacting mr. José Luís Balardin, sugar cane producer. He was looking for green manure, a type of organic fertilizer, to add nitrogen to the soil on his property.

This research is expected to last for three years; the first harvest will be in November. Mr. Bolonhesi projects a six-time increase on the bean production only in São Paulo state, assuming that 20% of the sugar cane area had beans planted between its lines.

It is a good picture for Brazil and other poor and developing countries in Central America, the Caribbean and Africa, according to President Lula from Brazil. In Brazil thebiofuels allowed a 40% reduction of the dependance on fossil fuels; six million jobs were created and the deforestation was cut by half. A second-generation technology would allow about 100 countries to become biofuel producers, against the current 20.

EU, on the other hand, has agreed to slash its current tariffs (70% on imported ethanol) due to its 10% goal of renewable fuels that has to be met by 2020. Today, the EU uses 1.8% of biofuels to its entire fleet. Although imported biofuels will play an important role on this 10% goal, the Europeans are concerned about the susteinability of the production. They are willing to pay a premium, as long as the biofuels are certified that, e.g., no harvest has been burnt or no rain forest has been torn down.

I note a dissensus on their thoughts. Although everyone agrees on which challenges biofuels currently face, there is a huge difference on which part to attack first. While President Lula stresses his concerns about feeding the poor, EU leaders put a stonger emphasis on meeting environmental criteria. What we need is good balance of everything, assuring social and environmental standards, a thin layer of marketing, and pack everything to export.

All of a sudden, 27 energy ministers from the EU gathered and decided to re-read the article 3 for the renewable energy plan. As mr Jean-Louis Borloo, the French environment and energy minister, said, “The member states realised that the Commission’s plan specifies that 10 percent of transport needs must come from renewable energy, not 10 percent from biofuels.” It is not a coincidence that they decided to re-read the plan at a time when the biofuels are being accused of responsability for most of the current food price raise.

Mr Ferran Tarradellas, spokerman for the EU energy commissioner, mr Andris Piebalgs, justified that biofuels were being treated as the only choice available because they are “the most realistic solution to decrease EU’s dependence on oil by 2020.” Mr Tarradellas definitely had a wiser choice of words.

But there is more regulation that is not so open to interpretation. EU decided in 2003 to mix 5.75% of biofuels to gasoline and diesel until 2010; France has a 7% goal. In March 2007, they decided to expand the target to 10% by 2020. Under both numbers, it makes sense for the EU to drop the tax barriers and to negociate the purchase of the Brazilian sugar cane ethanol, as reported a few days ago by news agencies.