THE British model of biofuels production is best, according to the National Farmers' Union.

Peter Kendall, NFU president, said it yielded genuine greenhouse gas savings compared to biofuels produced elsewhere in the world.

"There is a world of difference between biofuels grown on cleared rain-forest and then transported half way across the globe, and those grown sustainably here in Britain," he said.

"People can use biofuels produced to the British model with a clear conscience, knowing they are doing their bit for the environment, and I urge them to do so."

Mr Kendall, who was speaking on National Biofuels Day, said British-grown and processed biofuels achieve up to 64pc savings in greenhouse gas emissions compared with petrol or diesel.

The key elements in the British model are:

* wheat and oilseed rape grown for bioethanol and biodiesel are produced under the Assured Combinable Crops Scheme, covering pesticide use, storage, transport and record keeping;

* the compulsory EU crosscompliance conditions of the single payment scheme require environmentally-friendly field margins and preclude damage to either landscape or bio-diversity;

* every tonne of wheat or oilseed rape used for bioethanol or biodiesel will yield a third of a tonne of fuel and a third of a tonne of high-protein animal feed.

Mr Kendall said the impact of biofuels on world food supplies and prices had been grossly exaggerated.

Less than one per cent of the world's wheat crop was used for bioethanol last year, yet wheat prices more than doubled.

He said the world's demand for food had driven up prices.

"Over the next 30 years, a combination of rising population and changing diets will mean that the world's farmers have to double or triple production to keep the world fed," said Mr Kendall.

Biofuels were a relatively minor factor in the overall equation.

If more crops are being used for fuel, it was mainly down to the record price of oil, and the desire of countries like the US to strengthen their energy security.

The UK could produce all of the biodiesel and bioethanol needed to meet the targets of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation from feed wheat that would otherwise be exported, or oilseed rape grown on former set-aside land.

Even the EU's target of 10pc inclusion by 2020 would only have a minor impact on prices, as it had calculated there were 18m hectares of available land.

Mr Kendall said biofuels were at present the only viable renewable alternative to fossil fuels in road transport.

"We need to develop this technology, if we are to beat climate change without seriously restricting personal mobility," he said.

"The quite unjustifiably bad press that biofuels have been getting has been deterring investment just at a time when we need it most.

"National Biofuels Day is an opportunity not only to set the record straight but to send out a clear message that the best biofuels for the planet are biofuels grown in Britain."