Biofuel Seen as Boost for Poor Farmers

The world’s rural poor could benefit from a boom in fuel wrung from crops, despite worries that an accompanying surge in food prices could result in more hunger, say environmental and food experts.

But for the poor to share in the bounty of the so-called biofuel revolution, trade and agricultural policies and the practices of the fuel-from-food industry itself must be changed.
Many agricultural commodities have been in a virtual price freefall since the 1970s, with devastating consequences for entire economies. But key prices have bounced back in recent years, in large measure due to the biofuel industry.

“Decades of declining agricultural prices have been reversed thanks to the growing use of biofuels,” said Christopher Flavin, president of the Worldwatch Institute. “Farmers in some of the poorest nations have been decimated by U.S. and European subsidies to crops such as corn, cotton, and sugar. Today’s higher prices may allow them to sell their crops at a decent price.”

Additionally, said Flavin, countries that develop domestic biofuel industries should be able to buy fuel from their own farmers rather than spending scarce hard currency on imported oil, the price of which has tripled in recent years.

IPS News