Biofuels, which is at the centre of controversies ever since the concept gained momentum, on Monday received a mixed cautious opinion from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
A joint report published by the FAO and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) said, biofuels boom risks harming the world’s poorest people by forcing them off the land they depend on.
However, the report adds that biofuels are not all bad, and shows that their production can also allow poor groups to increase their access to land and improve their livelihoods if the right policies are in place.
The report comes as world leaders meeting in Rome this week hear calls for new guidelines on biofuels, which some have blamed for diverting resources from food production.
It points out that all biofuels are not equal and recommends policies that would increase the social benefits biofuels production can bring to the rural poor in developing countries.
Biofuel production is set to expand in the coming years despite growing concerns about the role of biofuels promoting deforestation and taking land formerly used to produce food.
The report shows that large-scale biofuel production is affecting poor people’s access to land in India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, Tanzania and Colombia.
Elsewhere, however, small-scale farmers have been able to increase their access to land to seize opportunities that the biofuels boom brings.
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