EU: Biofuel Policy Needs A Rework

European Union (EU) officials have a different stance on what the world’s biofuel policies should be.  EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said that Europe and the U.S. must reconsider their biofuel policies because of rising food prices around the world, the Associated Press reports. 

Speaking at an international conference on food supplies, Boel said that some countries’ restrictions on agricultural exports were severely hindering access to food and called for more investment to increase food production in the developing world.

Fertilizer prices have increased at an even faster rate than food prices over the last 18 months, making it difficult for Third World countries to up ag output, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said.  Boel said the EU is planning new financial aid to the farmers in developing countries to buy fertilizers and seeds to boost production.  She gave no details on the value of the package but said it would come from unspent EU farm funds.