Dutch company Waterland International is to commence the farming of biofuel plants in the area around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. The company has reached an agreement with the Japanese farmers federation, to plant an area of 2,000-to-3,000 hectares. The ground where the plants will be grown contains so much radioactive caesium 137 that many food crops cannot be grown. Any food products from the region are already difficult to sell as consumers are wary of contamination. For the farmers in this region, bio-fuel crops provide a viable solution according to William Nolten of Waterland International. The company plans to grow camelina sativa plants, the seeds of which are used in the production of bio-diesel. The Japanese government is also looking to see if the plants can actively reduce the levels of caesium in the soil. Waterland International expects further areas to become available for bio-fuel production, as an area of 800,000 hectares in the region has been declared unfit for food production. The camelina plants can also be used in electricity generating stations for the production of green energy. This is becoming an increasingly attractive option for the Japanese due to the closure of various nuclear energy installations.
Source NRC Handelsblad

Further information:

• www.waterlandinternational.com