Friends of the Earth is urging European countries to reduce their biofuel targets because of the impact on African farming practices. In particular, it says, European companies are grabbing land for biofuel crops that directly competes with food crops.
In its report ‘Africa: Up for Grabs’, the group says that the key to halting the land-grab is for EU countries to drop a goal to produce 10% of all transport fuels from biofuels by 2020.
“The amount of land being taken in Africa to meet Europe's increasing demand for biofuels is underestimated and out of control," said Kirtana Chandrasekaran, food campaigner for FoE in the UK. "Especially in Africa, as long as there's massive demand for biofuels from the European market, it will be hard to control. If we implement the biofuels targets it will only get worse. This is just a small taste of what's to come."
Click here for a copy of the ‘Africa: Up for Grabs’ report