Worldwatch Institute chief: biofuels could end global malnourishment

Earlier, Jacques Diouf, the director-general of the most authoritative food and agriculture research organisation, the UN's Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said biofuels and bioenergy "provides us with a historic chance to fast-forward growth in many of the world's poorest countries" (previous post). Now Christopher Flavin, the president of the Worldwatch Institute (WWI), one of the leading think tanks that works for an environmentally sustainable and socially just society, says biofuels could help tackle malnourishment and food insecurity on a global scale.

In an interview conducted by Dutch news agencies, the chief of the WWI says that the vast bulk of the world's poor, who can be found in rural areas, benefit from both the opportunity of biofuels as well as from increasing prices for agricultural commodities.

Flavin says prices for agricultural commodities have been low and declining for decades, with disastrous consequences for the 3.5 billion farmers on the planet who depend on global market forces.

"Farmers in the poorest countries were pushed out of the market by American and European subsidies for crops such as grain, cotton and sugar", the WRI's chief says. "Higher prices will for the first time allow them to sell at a decent price." This will help lift poor farmers - who make up between 70 even 90% of the population in most sub-Saharan African countries - out of their miserable situation.

Counter-intuitive as it may seem, higher agricultural prices actually boost the food security of the poorest, Flavin says. However, the social segment made up by the urban poor, still small compared to the rural poor but growing, will need assistance.

The counter-intuitive idea that higher agricultural prices boost the food security of the poor, is based on the well-understood fact that food insecurity is not the result of a scarcity of food, but of poverty and lack of income to buy food, which is actually very abundant (earlier post). Biofuels bring this much needed income, on a micro-economic level.

But biofuels offer a major advantage for third world countries on a macro-economic level as well. Dependence on imported oil is highly damaging to the economy of these countries, some of who now spend twice as much on buying oil products than on social and health services. By building a biofuels industry, these countries can save on scarce foreign currency. Of the 47 poorest countries on the planet, 38 are net importers of oil, and 25 are fully dependent on imports.

"But in order for the world's 800 million malnourished people to benefit from the biofuels revolution, the global agricultural market must be reformed radically", Flavin says. "Likewise, infrastructures have to be developed". The WWI chief hints at removing trade barriers to biofuels in order to allow countries in the South to benefit from their comparative advantages by exporting biofuels. In this he joins former World Bank chief-economist Joseph Stiglitz (earlier post), the IEA's chief Claude Mandil (previous post), and its chief-economist Fatih Birol (here) and many others:
energy :: sustainability ::biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: food security :: poverty alleviation :: energy security :: agriculture :: developing countries :: Worldwatch Institute ::

The Worldwatch Institute is not questioning whether biofuels will play a major role in the global fuel market - that is a certainty - the question is when and how.

Flavin recommends the development of strong, global policies that guarantee the many social and poverty-alleviating benefits of biofuels come into effect and benefit the poorest. The president also urges the transfer of biofuel technologies to the developing countries to ensure that the fast transition towards the green fuels is as efficient as possible: "We must avoid a repetition of the social and economic problems we have seen arising out of the oil industry".

Scientists have found that countries in the Global South have a major potential to produce a vast amount of biofuels in a sustainable way. Under an optimistic scenario, by 2050, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa could supply around 650Exajoules of bioenergy. The world's total current energy cosumption from all sources (coal, oil, gas, nuclear) stands at around 400Ej. These scenarios are based on ensuring that both the food, feed, and fiber needs of growing populations are first met, and on a "no-deforestation" basis.

In short, the potential for sustainably produced biofuels in the developing world is enormous. It is now a matter of ensuring that this is tapped in a socially acceptable way.

Translated by Jonas Van Den Berg

References:
IPS: Biobrandstof biedt arme boeren hoop - August 19, 2007.

Flemish Information Center on Agriculture and Horticulture: Ook arme landen profiteren van biobrandstoffen - August 17, 2007.

Biopact: A look at Africa's biofuels potential- July 30, 2006