Niigata to develop bioethanol from rice

Japan’s Niigata Prefecture will be home to a new project to develop rice-based bioethanol. Starting mid-July, JA Zen-Noh, the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, in cooperation with the Niigata prefectural government, will study the production of bioethanol from rice cultivated in fallow farmland. The project, analysts said, would be an effective way to utilize unused rice fields in Japan. Although there are still some concerns over the cost of production, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said the project is the first of its kind anywhere in the and is a government priority. The project aims to produce 445 liters of ethanol per ton of rice. (July 1, 2009)