Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Project

Latest Publications

Bioenergy and Food Security - The BEFS Analytical Framework	The BEFS analysis for Peru - Supporting the policy machinery in Peru	El análisis de BEFS para el Perù- Compendio técnico, Volumen 1, Resultados y conclusiones


El análisis de BEFS para el Perù- Compendio técnico, Volumen 2, Metodologías	The BEFS Analysis for Tanzania	The BEFS analysis for Thailand


BEFS Thailand - Key results and policy recommendations for future bioenergy development	Household level impacts of increasing food prices in Cambodia	Technical Compendium: Description of Agricultural Trade Policies in Peru, Tanzania and Thailand

What's BEFS all about?

The main objective of the Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Project is to ensure that food security concerns are taken into account within the bioenergy sector.

For more information, scroll down or click on the links below.

Bioenergy: risks and opportunities
Providing the tools to answer difficult questions
Putting the tools to use in the field
Consultations and publications
GTZ and BEFS

Bioenergy: risks and opportunities

Bioenergy developments can pose an increased threat to food security because it may compete with the same natural resources used for food production. Expanding production of fuel crops can influence national and international markets, triggering price surges and greater price volatility for staple foods. In areas where fuel crops expand, vulnerable rural communities may find it more difficult to gain access to the land or water they need to earn their livelihoods.

However, bioenergy development can also provide opportunities for increasing food security. It can generate employment and raise incomes in farming communities and spur rural development by providing a sustainable source of energy that is an affordable substitute for imported fossil fuels. Under the right conditions, investments in bioenergy can increase harvests for both food and fuel crops.

The BEFS project does not advocate for bioenergy. It intends to give policy makers who may be exploring opportunities for bioenergy development, the tools they need to make informed decisions that take into account food security issues and in the broader context rural and agricultural development.

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Providing the tools to answer difficult questions

The status quo in agriculture for most developing countries is not an option for meeting future food requirements. If bioenergy development continues to be endorsed, then future food security may be further compromised given that bioenergy production competes for the same resources used for food production. BEFS provides decision makers with an analytical framework and a set of analytical tools to answer key questions in bioenergy development:

Is food security going to be a problem in the next ten years if things stay as they are?
Where and how much sustainably biomass from residues is available for bioenergy production?
Can bioenergy be a competitive industry, and if so, can it maintain that competitiveness by involving smallholders?
Where and how can crop production be increased sustainably?
How will income and employment be affected by bioenergy development? Governments have a number of socio-economic objectives to fulfill, can bioenergy make a positive contribution in fulfilling those objectives?
Can bioenergy development be a mechanism to achieve national economic growth and poverty reduction objectives?
If bioenergy developments do impact negatively on food prices, who are the most vulnerable groups?

For more information, go to the analytical framework page.

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Putting the tools to use in the field

The links between bioenergy and food security are complex and the impacts can vary greatly from one country to another and also depending on the bioenergy fuel type considered. To learn from different experiences and supply the analytical tools with realistic and up-to-date information BEFS relies on country specific data. BEFS works closely with governments and country project teams to assist them in identifying their national policy objectives for bioenergy. The project is implementing the analytical tools in three countries Peru, Tanzania and Thailand. Go to BEFS country pages:

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Consultations and publications

BEFS actively encourages dialogue amongst all of the different groups that have a stake in bioenergy development. It has organized bioenergy and food security consultations and workshops and collaborates with partners to promote sharing knowledge and increased cooperation.

For more information, go to the Consultation and publications page.

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GIZ and BEFS

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has also carried out similar work in the field of bioenergy and food security. GIZ has supported the development of this web site as a means of sharing information on this important subject.

For more information, go to the GIZ and BEFS page.

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BEFSCI Questionnaire Launched

BEFSCI is reaching out to bionenergy feedstock producers to catalogue and showcase innovative approaches that have been used in sustainable bioenergy initiatives.

For more information, click here.