Fuelling exclusion? The biofuels boom and poor people’s access to land

May 2008

This study aims to open up discussion of the way in which biofuels are likely to impact on access to land. Many observers and activists have raised concerns that the spread of biofuels may result in loss of land access for poorer rural people in localities that produce biofuel crops. However, since liquid biofuels are a relatively new phenomenon in most countries (with exceptions such as Brazil and Zimbabwe), there is as yet little empirical evidence. This study aims to pave the way for future empirical research on how the biofuels boom affects land access, by raising key issues, presenting a basic conceptual framework and presenting a suite of (primarily anecdotal) evidence from around the world.
The recent nature of the biofuels debate, coupled with the scarcity of empirical research on the linkages between the spread of biofuels and land access, raise challenges for a desk-based study on this issue.
Preliminary experience however does provide some pointers for policy and practice by governments and the private sector, which are outlined in the concluding chapter.
The impacts of the spread of biofuels on land access for poorer groups are likely to be similar to those generated by the spread of other cash crops in the past. Indeed, some biofuels feedstocks, such as palm oil and soy beans, are already major cash crops for fodder, food and cosmetics. The key difference with the current biofuels boom is that biofuels lie at the interface between the agriculture and energy sectors. Therefore, not only are biofuel crops likely to be much more highly regulated than other agricultural commodities, government consumption targets are creating an artificial demand that is unprecedented among cash crops, and which is likely to persist beyond the usual length of a “commodity boom” cycle. Nonetheless, commonalities enable us to learn from recent and historical experiences with rapid expansion of commodity crops.
The report is organised as follows. The next section provides a short overview of trends in – and drivers of – biofuels production. Chapter 2 maps out the anticipated links between the spread of biofuel crops and land access. Chapter 3 discusses available evidence concerning these links, while the final Chapter 4 draws some conclusions and suggests ways forward.

By: L. Cotula, N. Dyer, S. Vermeulen (IIED, FAO)

 
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