Biodiesel to the rescue

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 2,0, Hertie School of Governance (Master of Public Policy), course: States and Markets, language: English, abstract: The Brazilian Biodiesel Program (PNBP) is set out to reduce poverty in the underdevelopedNorthern regions of the country. It encourages family agriculture from plants such as castorand palm which are not suitable for plantation farming through government subsidies andlow interest credits. The PNBP would have the potentials to reach its goals, if its design andits administration were not half-hearted and the program prone to be sacrificed to theinterests of the over-powering soy lobby. Without a more genuine dedication to its socialfocus, the PNBP is set out to end as a reprint of the highly subsidized ethanol programbenefiting car-owners instead of the rural poor.