May 15th, 2009

On Monday May 18th FACT Foundation  hosts a workshop discussing the food/fuels issue.

The points to be discussed are:

1. Biofuels can be produced at current agricultural lands and no extra land is needed, since in most developing countries agriculture is not well developed, production per ha could be doubled or tripled using better inputs (better varieties, nutrients, good weeding, etc) and surplus yield can be an energy source. 

2. When biofuels produced in LDC’s are meant for export to Western countries at least two conditions should apply: (1) strict sustainability criteria for the complete chain and (2) only surplus shall be exported (biofuels shall first be used to satisfy local demand) .

3. When resources (available land, water and nutrients) are scarce and food production is just sufficient food production should be given priority, next biofuels. 

4. A policy for price stability is required for the food crop and biofuel crop market; otherwise it is likely that farmers will not benefit at all from biofuels. The food crisis is provoked by ill conceived or nonexistent agricultural policies in many African countries, where urban voters are kept happy with lowest food prices at the expense of farmers and by consistent low attention to invest in modernization in agriculture by international agencies and governments.

5. Change in consumption patterns (shift from vegetable based to animal based diets) plays a much larger role in food security issues than biofuels (in other words: “rather a vegetarian in a Hummer than a meat-eater in a Smart”). 

6. Land can be used for the production of food and fuel either using crops that can have both options (sugar cane, corn) or intercropping single food or fuel e.g. Jatropha or Pongamia combined with intercrops. The first system is more flexible, and might be preferred to ensure a food safety net.  

7. The economic feasibility of biofuels should be compared to energy alternatives like hydro-power, wind, solar and or conventional alternatives.  

8. In many cases the GHG emission reductions from biofuels do not compensate for the initial GHG released because of land use conversion (e.g. conversion of rainforest on tropical peat soils to palm oil plantations). 

9. Land rich in biodiversity should not be converted into agricultural land for biofuels.