HIGH-level lobbying by the NFU has led to a government announcement which paves the way for farmers to grow crops for fuel as well as food and is the equivalent of taking a million cars off the road.

The introduction of a five per cent renewable transport fuel obligation is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least a million tonnes a year.

It means that by 2010, five per cent of all transport fuel will have to come from CO2 neutral sources like biothanol and bio-diesel which is refined from crops including wheat and oilseed rape.