Biofuel blues for farmers

One litre of home-made biodiesel costs zl.2.9, while at a fuel station - zl.3.9. The cheapest equipment for home biodiesel production with a capacity of 1,000 litres a day costs zl.25,000 and pays for itself within a year on a 100 hectare farm. The quality of the fuel is high enough not to damage cars and tractors. The so far illegal producers wanted to legalize their activity and pay all the required taxes, but they were refused by tax office due to a lack of proper legislation, which according to Law and Justice (PiS), will be voted on in Parliament at the beginning of 2007. However, farmers are critical of the proposed legislation as it will force them to carry out large investments (often unnecessary but compulsory) and abide by complicated rules, as a result of which production will no longer be profitable. The producers of the equipment criticize the government's stance which forces them to export their products to the rest of Europe, where appropriate and sensible provisions have long been in place. The end result in Poland is a gray zone in fuel industry which is growing rather than shrinking. (Gazeta Wyborcza, June 17-18, pp. 1, 34) J.L.