Pakistan's Ambiguous Policies about Cassava Planta
Posted by Unknown in Biofuel, Cassava, News of Pakistan on Saturday, 26 January 2013
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| Cassava Plantation and Cassava Roots |
For
instance, while the Yingluck government said it would go ahead with its
populist policies to benefit the farmers, cassava planters have felt
anegative side to these policies. Local planters have been directly
affected by the reduction in diesel pricesbecause cassava produce is
used in ethanol production.
Over
the past four months, local planters have suffered from changing
domestic policy. The lower prices of diesel and benzene made gasohol
less attractive because of the lower price margin. Drivers shifted back
to diesel and benzene until the Yingluck government later announced it
was cutting the gasohol price.Cassava planters bore the brunt of drastic
changes in the government`s policy.
From
the middle of 2010 to early last year, the cassava prices rose sharply
because the previous government set a policy to promote the use of
gasohol by keeping gasohol prices lower than traditional fuel.
Many
farmers convertedtheir farms to cassava plantations in the hope of
earning more from this economic crop. The price of cassava, howev-er,
saw a declining trend from the middle of last year partly because
gasohol was not competitive in terms of price, compared to traditional
fuel.
The
government should set a clear policy on planting cassava, whether it
will continue to promote biodiesel, and how it would help ease the
impact on local farmers of the liberalisation of agricultural imports.
The Dawn
