Bioenergy Cures World Hunger, Poverty - FAO

ROME - Apr 14/05 - SNS -- Despite the fact that agricultural productivity is having trouble keeping up with population growth in many developing countries, the FAO told the 19th session of its Committee on Agriculture that expanding the role of bioenergy will "eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and ensure environmental sustainability".

Noting two billion people are still without electricity or other modern energy services, the FAO paper asserted increased use of bioenergy can help diversify agricultural and forestry activities and improve food security, while contributing to sustainable development.

Bioenergy is produced from biofuels (solid fuels, biogas, liquid fuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel) which come from crops such as sugar cane and beet, maize and energy grass or from fuelwood, charcoal, agricultural wastes and by-products, forestry residues, livestock manure, and others.

Biomass is a locally available energy source that can provide for heat and power. It contributes to the substitution of imported fossil fuels, thus enhancing national energy security, reducing the import bill of petroleum products and alleviating poverty.

FAO assists member countries in their interest to convert biomass into energy and set up national strategies and programs. "The production and use of biofuels need to be properly managed in order to provide energy services to the rural poor while improving food security and contributing to sustainable development," explains FAO expert Gustavo Best.

In sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 90% of the rural population live without access to electricity, bioenergy with its two main components, wood energy and agroenergy, can have a significant impact on improving livelihoods.

The FAO paper argued increasing the use of biomass for energy could lead to improved economic development, especially in rural areas, since it attracts investment in new business opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises in the field of biofuel production, preparation, transportation, trade and use.

The use of biomass for energy also generates incomes and jobs for the rural people. "In fact, bioelectricity production has the highest employment-creation potential among renewable energy options. It can create several times the number of direct jobs than the production of electricity using conventional energy sources, and with lower investment cost per job generated," the report says.

In developed countries, there is growing interest on the part of governments and the private sector in expanding the use of biofuels derived from agricultural and forestry biomass. Liquid biofuels have gained importance, particularly in the transport sector.

Scenarios developed for the USA and the EU indicate that "short-term targets of up to a 13% displacement of petroleum-based fuels with liquid biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel) appear feasible on available cropland", according to FAO.

Petroleum accounts for over 35% of the world's total commercial primary energy consumption. Coal ranks second with 23% and natural gas third with 21%. These fossil fuels are the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions, causing global warming, and thus climate change, the report points out.

Biofuels, of which fuelwood and charcoal occupy the largest share, represent around 10% of the total global primary energy consumption.

For this century, the report anticipates a significant switch from a fossil fuel to a bioenergy-based economy which could benefit not only the rural poor but also the whole planet, since biofuels can help mitigate climate change.