#IFPRI: A step towards reality - reconciling food security and bioenergy

On 16 June,  the report Reconciling food security and bioenergy: priorities for action, produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) – together with the World Bank, the Delft University, the Centre for Environmental Policy of the Imperial College London, among others – concludes that concerns over food supply insecurity, as a result of cultivation of biofuels feedstock, are largely misplaced.

It states: “Well-designed biofuels usage programmes can simultaneously improve food security in countries with populations at  risk of under nourishment, and in more developed economies.”

The IFPRI’s MIRAGE model was used by the European Commission in 2012 to justify its policy to address Indirect Land-Use Change (ILUC) caused by biofuels. These calculations played a key role in justifying the 7% cap for first-generation biofuels by the EU in Directive (EU) 2015/1513.

This new report concludes that food and bioenergy do not need to compete for land, and recognizes the positive  effects of biofuels use  in providing jobs and resulting economic growth.

The report states that properly regulated biofuels production can lead to heightened  energy security, not just in transport — which in itself can provide wider access to domestic markets, boosting jobs and services — but also in improving food  processing and storage.

The report adds: "Simplistic global analyses, headlines, and cartoons that blame biofuels for food insecurity may reflect good intentions but mislead the public and policy-makers. "

To address any concerns with indirect effects from biofuels, the report considers that good governance should be at the centre of future biofuels crop cultivation. This includes a number of recommended practices such as using the correct feedstock crops, set prices high enough to incentivize local production, and a focus on the needs of local populations.

Reacting to the report, EBB Secretary General Raffaello Garofalo said: “The European approach to ILUC  is based on the idea that an increase in biofuel production would reduce food supply and increase food prices, thereby contributing to increased hunger. We are pleased to welcome a comprehensive report gathering evidence that refutes most assumptions underlying this hypothesis, and concluding  that, despite a rapid  increase in food production, there is no evidence of biofuel impacts on food-related health.”

Share this article: