Biofuels and Rural Economic Development in Latin America and the Caribbean Table 2.4 Potential crops of interest to Latin America as source of biomass/feedstock Ethanol
Biodiesel
Sugar/amylase/oil sources Sugarcane
X
Maize / sorghum
X
Palm oil
X
Canola (rapeseed)
X
Soybeans
X
Jatropha spp. (especially the species curcas).
X
Castor Oil (Ricinus communis L., Euphorbiaceae)
X
Cassava
X
Wheat
X
Sugar beet
X
Cellulosic source Grasses and rapid growth trees
X
Primary residues (straw, stalks, wood chips and other by-products)
X
Secondary residues (sawdust, sugarcane bagasse, nutshells)
X
Tertiary residues (municipal solid waste, discarded wood products) Source: Authors review of literature.
X
Evaluation issues related to the Impact of Biofuels on Agriculture 2.11 The following is a general discussion of critical issues related to the evaluation of the potential global, regional and national impacts of biofuel production systems. This section centers the discussion within the agricultural context in LAC countries so that it helps illustrate the complexity of the biofuel and agriculture interface, while at the same time examining the potential gains from investing resources in careful and detailed modeling of these production systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. 2.12 One of the most important issues that need ample discussion is the food versus biofuel production trade-off. With the apparent push for biofuel production, some policymakers and analysts have voiced the concern that aggressive growth in bio-energy production could potentially ―crowd out‖ food crop production in some of developing (Graham-Harrison, 2005). This line of argumentation posits that the development of biofuel production might be able to address rising energy demands but may have adverse effects on the needed growth in agricultural production for food and feed demands. In the minds of these critics, a tension emerges between competing national priorities. The question remains unanswered – which one will be given more importance – the need for energy or that for food and feed supply? 2.13 Hall and House (2004) point out that the cultivation of energy crops need not compete with that of food crops, as a select group of crops may be able to occupy marginal agricultural lands and require a minimal level of input. These crops nevertheless may be significant competition for 8