Sir Bob Geldolf, Biofuels and Africa: false optimism in the social and economic impacts of biofuels?

Sir Bob Geldof believes biofuels will have a ‘positive impact on poverty-stricken communities’ in Africa. He will air his perspective at the World Biofuels Market, March 16th-18th (http://www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com/).  Recent research conducted through the food-energy nexus project, however, has highlighted that there are many actors in the complicated markets of biofuels that do not favor the poor.

The food and energy nexus research project in the Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh, India has indicated that the biofuels market deepens financial insecurity, threatens food security, and displaces poor people from their livelihoods and lands. Further still,  biofuels plantations and their yields does not match with promise made by science or other advocates of agrofuels.

Sir Bob Geldolf at the Biofuels Market conference will be provided with a space to air his perspectives and that of business. But when will poverty-stricken communities get their opportunities to voice their perspectives on biofuels? Where are the documented deliberative and democratic process on the complex issues that surround biofuels, poverty and ethnicity?

It is imperative that the Biofuels Market conference and Sir Bob Geldolf explains a few things for example: How will biofuels improve the lives of the poor? What impact will biofuels have on the environment and the ways of life for marginalized communities? How will biofuels impact differentially on the bases of social-political-geographical contexts (gender, environments, class, race/caste etc)? How and who makes the decisions? And importantly, how will biofuels lead to long-term food and energy security?

A report and anthra (http://www.anthra.org/) video documenting the food and energy research project in Nalgonda will be available soon.

See this link for comments made by Sir Bob Geldolf on Biofuels:  http://bioenergy.checkbiotech.org/news/bob_geldof_believes_biofuels_can_eradicate_poverty_africa

jasbersingh@gmail.com

Interesting News…

Senegal and the concerns of Agrofuels:

http://www.cafebabel.com/eng/article/28576/biofuels-jatropha-senegal-interviews-producers.html

The ‘green new deal’ and false environmentalism:

http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2009/01/16/03041.html

NATO and the food-energy nexus:

http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2008/05/FS_NEXUS/EN/index.htm

IFAD funds biofuels research in India:

http://pscijourn.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/ifad-supports-biofuels-research-for-development-project-led-by-icrisat/