§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to promote long-term development of non-food crops; and what assessment he has made of the potential for development of non-food crops in the UK. [91589]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 19 July 1999]: We believe there is considerable potential to develop the use of non-food crops in the UK. The Ministry's Agri-Industrial Materials Branch promotes the use of crop derived raw materials at workshops and other events and through its dedicated Website. The Ministry spends around £1.1 million per annum on strategic research on non-food crops with a number of projects looking at the potential for these renewable raw materials. Most recently the Ministry's Central Science Laboratory has led an EU project on the opportunities and constraints for non-food crops and the report will be published in the autumn. We 500W are currently examining the scope to support the establishment of energy crops under the new Rural Development Regulation.