Edla Lula
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke with the pop star, Bono, about the National Biodiesel Program and measures to combat poverty in Brazil. The leader of the Irish rock group, U2, paid a visit to the president, yesterday (19), at the Torto Farm, the official presidential retreat on the outskirts of Brasília.

According to presidential spokesman, André Singer, Lula told Bono about the biodiesel project, which will provide the country with a new, clean, renewable energy source that will also create jobs. Biodiesel is produced from oilseed plants (castor beans, sunflowers, and soybeans).

The government estimates that for each industrial job, biodiesel will generate a thousand jobs in agriculture. According to Singer, biodiesel production has already spawned 60 thousand jobs in Brazil. He said that the total number of jobs expected to be created by the end of Lula's term is 100 thousand.

Translation: David Silberstein