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Nutrition security and access to modern energy are key elements of the international development agenda. Modern bioenergy is recognized as an important component of the sustainable, renewable energy mix. It is produced from organic matter, which inherently links it to agricultural, forestry and fishery value chains for the biomass that is needed to produce it.

While the nexus between bioenergy and agriculture, food and diets seem apparent, an active discussion has not yet taken place on the specific good practices across bioenergy value chains that could positively impact nutrition security. FAO and the Global Bioenergy Partnership are organizing an online workshop, to be held on 30 May 2022, to initiate a discussion between the nutrition and bioenergy communities to acknowledge and leverage this nexus and the opportunities that it presents to improve nutrition security.

One example of this link is the positive impact of the use of biochar, a bioenergy by-product, on soil quality. Biochar, the by-product of gasification (the burning of biomass with limited oxygen), can be applied to soils to improve soil fertility, structure and health. This can increase crop yields and potentially improve the nutritional content of the crops themselves.
Modern bioenergy can also have positive impacts on nutrition security at other stages of the value chain. For example, transitioning from traditional biomass cookstoves to improved cookstoves or other clean cooking solutions, such as biogas or ethanol stoves, can have several positive impacts, including on indoor air pollution, hygiene, and cooking efficiency. They can also reduce cooking times. Some studies have shown that households with biogas cookstoves, for example, may have more diverse diets compared to households with traditional cookstoves. This is because cooks have more control over temperature and cooking time with alternative stoves, so they may choose to add different items to their meals that were previously too time consuming or posed too high a spoilage risk because of uncontrollable stove temperatures.

Modern energy is crucial in innovating our agrifood systems and transforming them to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life. While both energy and nutrition security are covered by specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDG2 and SDG7, respectively), they also interact with and influence many other goals, representing a key aspect to be discussed to advance the development agenda.

Register to the workshop here