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FAO case study report finds land in Tanzania is highly suitable for cassava and sunflower production. Report finds that investment in biofuels can have positive impacts on poverty reduction in support of governmental policy.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a report called ‘Bioenergy and Food Security: The BEFS Analysis for Tanzania,’ which aims to support the development of bioenergy policies that are aligned with Tanzania’s poverty reduction and food security strategies.

The Tanzania case study examines: cassava, sugar cane, palm oil, jatropha, sweet sorghum and sunflower for bioenergy analyss; and maize, cassava and rice for food security analysis.

The results of the study suggest that the land in Tanzania is highly suitable for cassava and sunflower cultures.  In terms of producing biofuels, the analysis recommends ethanol production from cassava because it allows participation of smallholder farmers, though the report notes that technological capacity is limited in Tanzania.

The report also notes that biofuel and agricultural markets in Tanzania are sensitive to changes in government biofuel policies.  It highlights that there is no national-level trade-off between biofuel and food production, but that there could be a trade-off between biofuel expansion and traditional export crops.

The analysis suggests that the dividends from investing in biofuels can have positive impacts on poverty reduction and growth, assuming that that there are public investments to support biofuel development.

The Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Project is implemented by the FAO and funded by the German government.

The BEFS analytical framework is composed of five components:

1. Biomass potential;
2. Biofuel supply chain production costs;
3. Agriculture markets;
4. Economy wide impacts; and
5. Household level food security.

More on the Tanzania bioenergy FAO report.

Image: Flickr/vredeseilanden