Rethinking the Rush to Biofuels
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that over a billion people currently suffer from hunger. Approximately three-quarters of people suffering from hunger in the developing world live in rural areas, many of whom depend on agriculture for their food and livelihood. There have been a growing number of incidents where biofuel cultivation and production have created increased competition for land, often undermining food production and pushing small-scale farmers off their land.
Rep. James McGovern sponsored a briefing on June 25, 2009 on biofuels and hunger. ActionAid speakers from Guatemala and Senegal shared their first-hand knowledge of the issue along with examples of how the increased demand for biofuels is affecting the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and the food security of entire communities. Panelists discussed the unintended consequences of increased biofuel production and its impact on indirect land use and food security, as well as civil society mobilizations to address these issues.
Laura Hurtado
At the briefing, Laura Hurtado, Food Rights Coordinator at ActionAid Guatemala, discussed the increases in sugar and palm oil production and the impacts on smallholder farmers. This has created new challenges for land use and food production in Guatemala.
Fatou Mbaye, Program Officer at ActionAid Senegal, discussed the results of consultations with Senegalese farmers in 22 communities on the impacts of biofuels production and new advocacy efforts in Senegal to advance sustainable agriculture and food security.
Ralph Heimlich, Principal and owner of Agricultural Conservation Economics explained the scientific methodologies used to calculate the indirect land use changes resulting from biofuels production.
Fatou Mbaye
Congress is considering changes to energy and climate legislation that would eliminate the requirement that the full lifecycle analysis of the costs of biofuels include measurement of indirect land use changes in developing countries. ActionAid and other U.S. development, religious, environmental and family-farm organizations are calling on Congress to examine the impacts of biofuels production on food security and land rights.
