Rapid Sustainability assessment of soybean biodiesel in Paraguay

The sustainability of the soybean-based biodiesel value chain in Paraguay was analyzed in 2021 with a 3-month project under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Paraguay (MAG), in collaboration with FAO Paraguay, FAO/GBEP team and the Centro de Estudio Ambientales y Sociales (CEAMSO).

 

Soybean biodiesel is derived from the oil produced from the industrialization of soy beans; it is made up of monoalkyl esters of fatty acids suitable for use in any type of diesel engine. In Paraguay, biodiesel can be produced from a number of biomass sources but soybean, along with corn, is currently one of the most widely used alternatives. The country has instated an incrementally increasing mandate for biodiesel, hoping to reach 5 percent by 2022.

 

 

The project team visiting a biodiesel plant in order to collect primary data. Photo credit: Amado Insfran

 

Main results

The findings of the project, published in the report “Evaluación rápida de la sostenibilidad del sector de biodiesel de soja en Paraguay mediante el uso de indicadores GBEP”, highlighted that the existing national capacity for biodiesel production is sufficient to meet the current mandate but that there is a need for supporting policies to make the sector economically sustainable. Furthermore, additional investigation is required into the environmental sustainability of the feedstock production to ensure that the biodiesel production contributes to all environmental goals over and above climate mitigation targets.

 

The final results of the project were shared with policy makers and relevant stakeholders on 19 October 2021. The Minister of MAG, Moisés Santiago Bertoni, took to the stage at the meeting to share his hope that the study will allow for continued dialogue and analysis between the Government and the private sector, to promote actions that allow expanding the possibilities of production and sustainability of the biodiesel value chain.

 

Aims and methodology

The approach of project was a rapid assessment of the 24 GBEP Sustainability Indicators, with the main aim to characterize the soybean biodiesel value chain and carry out a preliminary methodological analysis of the relevant indicators. As well as giving preliminary values for some indicators, the project provides information on which indicators are most critical for future measurement and monitoring, and where there is the greatest lack of data for their measurement. An overview of these results for each indicator can be seen below.

The diagram shows the indicators that were deemed to be high/medium/low levels of criticality and the availability of data for each. As the diagram shows, most indicators either have insufficient or scarce data for their measurement using the full GBEP methodology. Credit: Adapted from Insfran, Corvalan, Spitale, 2021.

 

The methodology is in contrast with the in-depth measurement of the GBEP indicators in Paraguay for wood energy, and ethanol from sugarcane and corn, carried out between 2016 and 2018. As the FAO representative in Paraguay, Jorge Meza Robayo, noted, the objective of this technical cooperation also differed from its precedent, as it is focused on contributing to the dialogue on the production of bioenergy in Paraguay and sensitizing stakeholders on the critical sustainability aspects to be investigated in the future.

 

Looking to the future

Paraguay is committed to improving the production and the sustainability of its domestic biodiesel value chain with appropriate policy frameworks. The GBEP Bioenergy Week to be held in Paraguay in 2022 will represent a great opportunity to continue the dialogue and share experiences between countries in the region.