ABSTRACT
To regulate land use for food production, the European Union Common Agricultural Policy reforms in 1992 introduced a rotational setaside requirement for almost all arable land (CEEC, 1992). The proportion of set-aside varies considerably among the EU members and also at regional levels within each country. Some policy makers propose that agro-fuel crops be planted on land that is considered marginal in order not to compete with food production. Various policy measures have been set up to promote the use of biomass, including biofuels. The European Union has built up a large research program for the assessment of land suitability for biofuels. Therefore, we analyzed the extent of nonfood crop production within the general framework of set-aside lands in the European Union (Berger et al., 2006).
