1. Potential of biofuels for reducing poverty 29 April 2009
FAO, Rome Vineet Raswant
2. Agenda
Part 1: Why are biofuels important for the rural poor?
Part 2: Addressing the climate change mitigation agenda
Part 3: Biofuels and food security
Part 4: Biofuels and water
Part 5: Biofuels and biodiversity
3. Why are biofuels important for the rural poor?
4. Why are biofuels important for the rural poor?
1 out of 5 people are engaged in Agriculture.
Yet Agriculture only contributes to 4% of Global GDP.
Not surprising that poverty is largely in the agricultural
sector.
5. Why are biofuels important for the rural poor?
If these people stay in agriculture, they face many
problems.
Commodity prices kept declining up to 2006.
Input costs have been going up.
Agriculture is unprofitable for many.
With declining land holdings the problems of smallholder
farmers could be even worse.
6. Why are biofuels important for the rural poor?
Option 1: Improve farm-gate prices .
7. Why are biofuels important for the rural poor?
Option 2: Take these people out of agriculture - as advocated
by a number of economists.
Can they be absorbed in other sectors in developing countries,
when most are agriculture-dependent economies?
8. Why are biofuels important for the rural poor?
There is a need to expand the size of the agricultural basket
(as presently defined food, feed, and fibre) to employ such a large
number of poor.
Biofuels have the potential to generate employment in rural
areas, and trigger agricultural growth with implications for
poverty reduction.
Cross-country econometric evidence indicates that GDP growth
generated in agriculture is at least twice as effective in reducing
poverty as growth generated by other sectors (World Bank,
2007).
9. Addressing the climate change mitigation agenda
10. Alternative Biofuel Crops
Partly due to a current knowledge gap, experiences with food
crops, which have unfortunately been used for biofuel production,
are dictating perceptions about biofuels.
Should policies be dictated by such practices or lack of
knowledge?
11. Alternative Biofuel Crops
Jatropha, Pongamia, Cassava, Sweet sorghum:
require less water,
can be grown in relatively unfavourable agro-climatic
conditions,
can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Tropical sugarbeet, Seashore mallow, Camelina, Arundo donax can
be grown in saline conditions.
There are about 60 million ha of land affected by secondary
salinization, that once R&D is conducted - can be used for
biofuel production.
12. Biofuels and GHG savings Why not develop a cut-off point,
such as any reduction less than 40% is not acceptable? 60% to 120%
Next generation crops 53% to 78% Soybean 31% to 90% Palm oil -47%
to +58% Maize Average Reduction Crops
13. Biofuels and food security
14. Biofuels and food security
As experienced recently, food prices increased dramatically
with maize and other food crops being introduced as feedstock,
affecting many poor households.
However, the medium-longer term implications of sustained
increase in food prices can lead to higher production. (SOFA 2008,
FAO)
Food production can also be increased through improved yields,
and cultivating additional lands.
Land potentially available for expanded crop production is
between 250-800 million Ha. (SOFA 2008, FAO)
15. Biofuels and food security
Available analysis indicated that in general bio-fuels are not
a primary cause of hunger, nor a direct driver of food insecurity
(GEF-STAP Workshop on Liquid Biofuels, 2006).
Bio-energy crops could be a means to alleviate poverty, and to
increase food security through income generation.
Food security is not just a problem of production, rather a
problem of unequal access within developing countries (FAO
2005).
Supply of energy in rural areas is central to intensification
of agriculture.
This has become a pressing issue only because some countries have
used food crops for biofuels production. Solution: Do not use food
crops for bio-fuel production, or promote multiple use crops.
Pesticides, fertilizers, high water use (which lead to water
pollution and depleted resources).
Small scale farming production has lesser environmental
impacts.
Why not promote smallholder biofuel crop production using CA
techniques?
18. Biofuels and biodiversity
19. Biofuels and biodiversity
Deforestation has been occurring because of lack of
opportunities, before the demand for biofuels increased.
Despite the fact that biofuels might have accelerated the trend
in some areas, it should not be considered the key driver for
deforestation.
World population is expected to rise from 6.77 billion to about
9 billion by 2040, mostly in developing countries. How are these
people meant to earn their income?
Why not promote production of suitable crops in dry marginal lands
in anticipation of these trends?
20. Conclusion
21. Conclusion
Biofuels should be treated like any other cash crop.
Impacts could be minimized by preferring crop varieties and
farming techniques which cause low or positive impacts.
A more balanced and a clear view on biofuels needs to be
disseminated.
