The recent lowering of the oil price might very well have some significant effects on the short-term prospects of biofuel production, but long-and medium-term prospects remained positive, said industrial solutions provider MAN Ferrostaal MD Sean de Lancey.

De Lancey said on Friday that the longer-term outlook for biofuels was supported by the clean-energy debate.

“Certain types of biofuels are cleaner than fossil fuels, and the industry also provides an opportunity for job creation in areas where it did not previously exist,” he said in an interview with Engineering News Online.

The oil price hit a record high above $147 a barrel in July, but have since fallen to under $60 a barrel.

Commenting on the food-versus-fuel debate, De Lancey pointed out that only 1% of the world’s agriculture land was used to produce biofuels.

Several factions, including the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, have condemned countries that actively seek to convert farmland into biofuels agriculture. These factions argue that the production of biofuels has caused food prices to soar over the last years.

“I think there is an emotional side to this argument, which is perhaps a little unfair. If you look at some basic statistics, only 1% of the world’s agricultural land is used to produce biofuels, while about 30% of world grain is used for animal feed. With those kinds of statistics, it is very difficult to understand how 1% of the world’s agriculture business has influenced the price of food.”

De Lancey stated that the oil price was most likely the main contributor to the rising cost of food, which the world experienced before the recent financial downturn. He added that in the past couple of years there had also been a rise in demand from growing economies such as India and China, fuelled by their growing demand for meat protein.

Another challenge hindering the worldwide production of biofuels was a lack of sensible regulatory environments, he said.

De Lancey noted that the standard agriculture industry should also be regulated to ensure that farmland necessary for food production was not used.

“You have to control the extent to which you operate biofuels as opposed to food. But I think the debate should be, especially in Africa, around the fact that we have so much land unused, and there is sufficient room for both food agriculture and biofuels agriculture.”

Africa’s future production of biofuels could be a viable industry, as the continent had a significant percentage of available land as well as a labour force waiting in the wings. “I think governments would be remiss not to make use of this opportunity. It is a marriage of commercial interest and social responsibility, which I believe will work very well for Africa.”

To subscribe to Engineering News's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.