BRUSSELS – The cultivation of rape seed is booming. Last year Flemish farmers designated 891 hectares for the production of rapeseed, five times more than last year. The increase can be fully attributed to the search for alternative fuels, such as bio-diesel.

The rise is particularly true for Flanders, while farmers in Wallonia and in the Brussels region seem to be lagging a little behind in adopting the plans of a number of large companies to produce bio-fuels. Rapeseed looks like an obvious choice. With 891 hectares, the share of rape seed remains limited to 0.2 percent of the total farmland in Flanders.

A recent survey has shown that the number of farms continues to drop. The total numbers of farms in Flanders is just over 33,000 and for the whole of Belgium the number of farms is 51,500.

The number of livestock and pig farmers continues to fall as does the number of farm workers (-2.7 percent).

The survey has shown that the number of sheep, goats and cows is continuing to rise.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Belgian news