ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday expressed concern over the increasing use of crops to produce fuel and called for a worldwide ban on the practice.

Using crops to produce fuel in a bid to reduce dependence on fossil fuel is a failed initiative which should be immediately abandoned, said ICST Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt.

In a statement, Mr Butt said a ban on bio-fuel production can save the world from a food crisis, improve food security and help reduce malnutrition and starvation across the world.

Agriculture systems are subject to weather and if the weather is unfriendly, it can lead to food security issues, he added.

Mr Butt said that all the countries, especially the US, should revisit politically motivated policies including reduced dependence on fossil fuel in order to reduce hunger in the world.

He said that the suspension of bio-fuel production, relaxing fuel blending rules and discouraging fresh investments in productions can boost food supplies to people and livestock.

Renewable energy production in the US is equivalent to about 40pc of total maize production, which can be used as food, he said.

Mr Butt said that bio-fuel account for 12 pc of nine billion gallons of all automotive fuels sold in the US and that every gallon is derived from 12 kilograms of corn.

Around 350 kg of corn is converted into fuel to fill the tank of a car, which is sufficient for feeding two people in any developing country for a year, he added.

Published in Dawn September 26th, 2016