World Agrinews

Nineteen biofuel refinery projects have been selected to receive as much as $564 million in funding under the economic stimulus program, the U.S. energy and agriculture secretaries said.

Although the funding is conditional on final contracts being signed, it is a major boost for the industry and will likely accelerate the expansion of the next generation of biofuels.

Increasing protection of agricultural industries by advanced economies, including the United States and European Union, in the name of environmental interests and greenhouse gas reductions threatens next week’s climate change talks, according to World Growth, a non-governmental aid organization.

Farming practices that capture carbon and store it in agricultural soils offer some of the most promising options for early and cost-effective action on climate change in developing countries, while contributing to food security, FAO said in a policy brief prepared for the Copenhagen summit. Yet agriculture has been largely excluded from the main climate financing mechanisms under discussion in Denmark, the agency said.

China's government declared two strains of genetically modified rice safe to produce and consume, taking a major step toward endorsing the use of biotechnology in the staple food crop of billions of people in Asia.