South Africa: Biofuels vs Food Crops?

While South Africa is planning on increasing biofuels production some experts warn the move may hurt subsistence farmers and cause more hunger in impoverished areas of the country.

Replacing foodstuffs with energy cash crops may erode efforts to fight hunger in sub-Saharan Africa, a region prone to food shortages and famine with some 200 million malnourished inhabitants, according to United Nations estimates.
This year, large swathes of fields in parts of southern Africa were hit by floods or dry weather. As a result, thousands of tonnes of maize will have to be imported to make up for a shortfall, according to the United Nations World Food Programme.

Exacerbating the situation, South Africa, usually a net exporter of white maize, will need to import the product due to lower-than-expected output. In South Africa this year, maize prices reached their highest level in decades. Some experts expect the upward trend to continue on the back of the global ethanol rush.

A related concern is that large-scale farming operations could take over the most productive land to grow biofuel crops, crowding out subsistence farmers that use older agricultural techniques and lack the ability to compete on the world market, Pressend said.

AllAfrica