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Making sustainable biofuels work for smallholder farmers and rural households - Issues and perspectives |
2009 |
In developing countries, liquid biofuel production (LBP) - particularly if small in scale – offers potential opportunities for poverty reduction and rural development, through the creation of both income-generating opportunities for farmers and jobs for agricultural workers. If used locally for cooking, heating or power generation, liquid biofuels may also improve availability of and access to modern energy services in rural areas, where most households are without electricity and rely completely on firewood for their energy needs.
The rapid expansion of LBP, however, may also give rise to risks for developing countries, such as land and water degradation, loss of agro-biodiversity, potential exclusion of smallholder farmers and women, and increased food insecurity. As will be discussed in the next section, part of these risks has already been observed for other commercial agricultural production systems.
This paper provides an overview of the main risks and opportunities that may arise from liquid biofuel production and use in developing countries. Both the potential environmental impacts and the socio-economic effects of liquid biofuel production and use are discussed, focusing in particular on the household-level implications. A few country-levels impacts, which might trickle down to the household level, are discussed as well.
By: A. Rossi, Y. Lambrou
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