Role of Biotechnologies for Biofuel Production in Developing Countries The Bioenergy dimension Jeff Tschirley Environment, Climate change and Bioenergy (Nrc) Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, Italy 12 October 2007

Food security issues  Food availability, access, stability and use  Fluctuations and increases in food commodity prices  Food availability at times of crisis  Restrictions on access to markets  Tradeoffs in different bioenergy systems as regards rural employment, income opportunities

Where are the hungry? Developed market economies 9 Countries in transition 25 Sub-Saharan Africa 206 Near East and North Africa 38 Asia and Pacific 524 Latin America and Caribbean million (820 in developing countries) 212 million India 150 million China

Environmental and sustainability issues  Rapid land use change  Land rights and tenure  Total land availability  Availability and quality of water resources  Effects of agro-chemicals  Distribution of benefits  Wages, rural employment

Some key questions  What are the bioenergy options for food insecure countries – trade, employment, technology?  How may fluctuating commodity prices – potentially positive for producers, negative for poor consumers – affect food availability?  Can inequities (land tenure, market access, etc) be reduced?  Who is best placed to anticipate, monitor and address conflicts?  How may changing bioenergy technology (1 st v. 2 nd generation) affect tropical developing countries?

How is FAO contributing?  Bioenergy programme facility - direct assistance to countries, guidelines, data, country analysis  Knowledge – Webshore International bioenergy information system (iBis)  Partnerships – International Bioenergy Platform, Global Bioenergy Partnership  Analysis – BEFS, SOFA 2008  Structural and programme re-orientation

FuelFeedstock Currently produced GHG reduction v. petroleum Production cost Biofuels yield per hectareLand types 1st generation biofuels, commercially available Ethanol grains (wheat, maize) US, Europe, Chinalow-moderatemoderate cropland Biodiesel (SVO, FAME) oil seeds (rape, soy, sunflower)US, Europelow-moderatemoderatelowcropland 1st generation biofuels (commercially available mainly in developing countries) Ethanolsugar cane Brazil, India, Thailandhighlow-moderatehighcroplands Biodiesel/SVOpalm oilSoutheast Asiamoderatelow-moderate moderate- highcoastal lands Biogas (CNG) wastes, cropsEurope, Indiahighlow-moderatehighall land 2nd generation biofuels (not yet commercially available) Ethanol cellulose, residuesnonehighmoderate-high*high croplands, marginal lands Biodiesel (BTL) cellulose residuesnonehighmoderate-high*high croplands, marginal lands Other Biodiesel/SVOjatropha South Asia, Africahigh moderate- high**low-moderatedegraded lands Biogas (SNG, GtL) biomass, residuesallhighmoderatehighall land Fritsche, 2007

; GHG emissions from transport fuels; data in g/kWh incl. upstream life-cycles and by-product credits (from: GEMIS 4.4)

Some key challenges  Policy and legislative frameworks that facilitate sustainable approaches to bioenergy development  Estimating national bioenergy production potential with sufficient accuracy for informed national decisions  Coordinating bioenergy investment flows against realistic policy and programme objectives  Certifications schemes that are flexible, cost effective and do not penalize participation by small-scale producers  Mechanisms for developing countries to compete with technological change

Thank you