JAKARTA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) alongside Indonesia's second largest cement company PT Indocement will jointly host an international conference on the use of the jatropha plant for biofuel production, according to local media Saturday.

    At least 10 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Vietnam and China, will take part in the conference, scheduled for June 24-26, 2008.

    "We hope that the meeting will be a forum for exchange of ideas, information and technology among related parties engaged in bio-energy development using jatropha from all over the world," Antaranews agency quoted IPB spokeswoman and lecturer Erliza Hambali as saying.

    She added that the conference will also discuss the possibility of banning the use of food crops as feedstock for biofuel production.