Biofuels and Rural Economic Development in Latin America and the Caribbean
5.3 The scenarios in Section 3.4 introduce estimations that address both yield of biofuels per ton of feedstock and the yield per unit of land of the crop that produce feedstock. Based on that exercise we indicated that the best option, from a biofuels yield standpoint, where sugarcane for ethanol production and palm oil for biodiesel. This result is illustrated in Figure 5.1 below. Note that the ethanol yield per hectare of sugar beet is almost comparable to that of sugar cane. As described in this report, the production of sugar beet is relatively small in Latin America and the Caribbean, although more important in temperate climate countries. Interestingly enough, the yield of Jatropha spp., although lower than palm oil, is higher than that of rapeseed and sunflower seeds, crops that are heavily used in industrialized countries for the production of oil.
Ethanol Feedstock
Pa lm
C or n Su ga rb ee Su t ga rc an e So yb ea C n as to rb Su ea nf ns lo w er se ed R ap es ee d Ja tro ph a
W he at
7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
Ba rl e y
Liters per Hectare
Figure 5.1 Biofuel yield per crop (in liters per hectare)
Biodiesel Feedstock
Source: OECD report (2006).
Irrigated and rain fed crop production: Implications for land and water use policies 5.4 While we have not addressed specific impacts on non-agricultural land uses within this report, there are important consequences to be recognized from the expansion of agricultural area (in either irrigated or rain fed form). While many parts of Latin America do not have the types of land availability constraints that are seen in South, Southeast and East Asia, there are still fragile lands and vulnerable ecosystems in need of protection that need to be taken into consideration, when evaluating the implications of biofuel-driven expansion of cultivated crop area. As described in section 3.4 of this report, several countries in Latin America have significant slack agricultural area for the potential expansion of biofuels and may not have a significant constraint to meet relatively modest blending requirements, such as the 10% technical maximum of ethanol that current combustion engines can use without a modification 5.5 As seen in Figure 5.2, if there is a global need to meet the requirement of substituting 10% of total fuels‘ share with biofuels, there will be a need for a nine fold expansion in total area planted to meet that requirement. Whereas for some countries, like Brazil, they are already producing above the minimum threshold needed for a 10% biofuel substitution and may even have significant more area to produce biofuels. Contrast this situation with that of the USA and Canada that would
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