IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wodepe/v13y2019icp10-17.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Biofuels versus food: Understanding the trade-offs between climate friendly crop and food security

Author

Listed:
  • Goswami, Kishor
  • Choudhury, Hari K.

Abstract

The present paper analyzes the impact of Jatropha plantation on food production in North East India. It is based on the primary data collected from 281 farmers, consisting of the present and past Jatropha growers, from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh through multistage random sampling technique. Food production in the region is hypothesized to be affected by agricultural land conversion and labor diversion from food to Jatropha plantations. Non-parametric tests and Probit models were used to examine the effects of Jatropha plantation on food production. The results show that the probability of a reduction in food production does indeed increase if either agricultural land is converted or labor is diverted from food production to Jatropha. However, the conversion of agricultural land and diversion of labor from food production to Jatropha plantation is more likely among the past-growers. Thus, it appears that while Jatropha plantation may set back the food production in the short-run, this adverse effect may reduce in the long-run. Regulation on land use pattern along with higher agricultural productivity may minimize the intensity of land conversion and labor diversion to Jatropha. Moreover, use of degraded land, intercropping, and third-generation biofuels may reduce the food versus biofuels conflict.

Suggested Citation

  • Goswami, Kishor & Choudhury, Hari K., 2019. "Biofuels versus food: Understanding the trade-offs between climate friendly crop and food security," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 13(C), pages 10-17.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:13:y:2019:i:c:p:10-17
    DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2019.02.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292917300206
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.wdp.2019.02.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Goswami, Kishor & Choudhury, Hari K., 2015. "To grow or not to grow? Factors influencing the adoption of and continuation with Jatropha in North East India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 627-638.
    2. Lakner, Zoltan & Vizvari, Bela, 2008. "Application of decision support methods in preparation for a Hungarian bio-fuel programme," GAZDÁLKODÁS: Scientific Journal on Agricultural Economics, Karoly Robert University College, vol. 52(Special E), pages 1-15.
    3. Rathmann, Régis & Szklo, Alexandre & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2010. "Land use competition for production of food and liquid biofuels: An analysis of the arguments in the current debate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 14-22.
    4. Segerstedt, Anna & Bobert, Jans, 2013. "Revising the potential of large-scale Jatropha oil production in Tanzania: An economic land evaluation assessment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 491-505.
    5. Choudhury, Hari K. & Goswami, Kishor, 2013. "Determinants of expansion of area under jatropha plantation in North East India: A Tobit analysis," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 46-52.
    6. Ahmed, Abubakari & Campion, Benjamin Betey & Gasparatos, Alexandros, 2017. "Biofuel development in Ghana: policies of expansion and drivers of failure in the jatropha sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 133-149.
    7. Lam, Man Kee & Tan, Kok Tat & Lee, Keat Teong & Mohamed, Abdul Rahman, 2009. "Malaysian palm oil: Surviving the food versus fuel dispute for a sustainable future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1456-1464, August.
    8. Soto, Iria & Achten, Wouter M.J. & Muys, Bart & Mathijs, Erik, 2015. "Who benefits from energy policy incentives? The case of jatropha adoption by smallholders in Mexico," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 37-47.
    9. Bozbas, Kahraman, 2008. "Biodiesel as an alternative motor fuel: Production and policies in the European Union," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 542-552, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bilgili, Faik & Koçak, Emrah & Kuşkaya, Sevda & Bulut, Ümit, 2020. "Estimation of the co-movements between biofuel production and food prices: A wavelet-based analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    2. Bilgili, Faik & Kocak, Emrah & Kuskaya, Sevda & Bulut, Umit, 2022. "Co-movements and causalities between ethanol production and corn prices in the USA: New evidence from wavelet transform analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    3. Das, Prantika & Jha, Chandan Kumar & Saxena, Satyam & Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar, 2024. "Can biofuels help achieve sustainable development goals in India? A systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kallas, Zein & Gil, José María, 2015. "Do the Spanish want biodiesel? A case study in the Catalan transport sector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 398-406.
    2. Ong, H.C. & Mahlia, T.M.I. & Masjuki, H.H. & Norhasyima, R.S., 2011. "Comparison of palm oil, Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum for biodiesel: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3501-3515.
    3. Foo, K.Y. & Hameed, B.H., 2010. "Insight into the applications of palm oil mill effluent: A renewable utilization of the industrial agricultural waste," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 1445-1452, June.
    4. Mat Yasin, Mohd Hafizil & Mamat, Rizalman & Najafi, G. & Ali, Obed Majeed & Yusop, Ahmad Fitri & Ali, Mohd Hafiz, 2017. "Potentials of palm oil as new feedstock oil for a global alternative fuel: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1034-1049.
    5. Hazarika, Bhabesh & Bezbaruah, Madhurjya Prashad & Goswami, Kishor, 2016. "Adoption of modern weaving technology in the handloom micro-enterprises in Assam: A Double Hurdle approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 344-356.
    6. Dalemans, Floris & Muys, Bart & Verwimp, Anne & Van den Broeck, Goedele & Bohra, Babita & Sharma, Navin & Gowda, Balakrishna & Tollens, Eric & Maertens, Miet, 2018. "Redesigning oilseed tree biofuel systems in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 631-643.
    7. Caires, Anderson R.L. & Scherer, Marisa D. & De Souza, José E. & Oliveira, Samuel L. & M'Peko, Jean-Claude, 2014. "The role of viscosity in the fluorescence behavior of the diesel/biodiesel blends," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 388-391.
    8. Ahmed, Abubakari & Kuusaana, Elias Danyi & Gasparatos, Alexandros, 2018. "The role of chiefs in large-scale land acquisitions for jatropha production in Ghana: insights from agrarian political economy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 570-582.
    9. Patel, Akash & Gami, Bharat & Patel, Pankaj & Patel, Beena, 2017. "Microalgae: Antiquity to era of integrated technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 535-547.
    10. van Asselt, E.D. & Meuwissen, M.P.M. & van Asseldonk, M.A.P.M. & Sterrenburg, P. & Mengelers, M.J.B. & van der Fels-Klerx, H.J., 2011. "Approach for a pro-active emerging risk system on biofuel by-products in feed," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 421-429, June.
    11. Xu, Yang-Jie & Li, Guo-Xiu & Sun, Zuo-Yu, 2016. "Development of biodiesel industry in China: Upon the terms of production and consumption," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 318-330.
    12. Obed M. Ali & Rizalman Mamat & Gholamhassan Najafi & Talal Yusaf & Seyed Mohammad Safieddin Ardebili, 2015. "Optimization of Biodiesel-Diesel Blended Fuel Properties and Engine Performance with Ether Additive Using Statistical Analysis and Response Surface Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Charlotte Stead & Zia Wadud & Chris Nash & Hu Li, 2019. "Introduction of Biodiesel to Rail Transport: Lessons from the Road Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, February.
    14. Chilombo, Andrew & Van Der Horst, Dan, 2021. "Livelihoods and coping strategies of local communities on previous customary land in limbo of commercial agricultural development: Lessons from the farm block program in Zambia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    15. Mohcine Bakhat & Klaas WŸrzburg, 2013. "Price Relationships of Crude Oil and Food Commodities," Working Papers fa06-2013, Economics for Energy.
    16. Franziska Schuenemann & William A. Kerr, 2019. "European Union non-tariff barriers to imports of African biofuels," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 407-425, October.
    17. Luis Santos Pereira, 2017. "Water, Agriculture and Food: Challenges and Issues," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(10), pages 2985-2999, August.
    18. Ishola, Mofoluwake M. & Brandberg, Tomas & Sanni, Sikiru A. & Taherzadeh, Mohammad J., 2013. "Biofuels in Nigeria: A critical and strategic evaluation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 554-560.
    19. Silitonga, A.S. & Atabani, A.E. & Mahlia, T.M.I. & Masjuki, H.H. & Badruddin, Irfan Anjum & Mekhilef, S., 2011. "A review on prospect of Jatropha curcas for biodiesel in Indonesia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3733-3756.
    20. Polprasert, Chongchin & Patthanaissaranukool, Withida & Englande, Andrew J., 2015. "A choice between RBD (refined, bleached, and deodorized) palm olein and palm methyl ester productions from carbon movement categorization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 610-620.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:13:y:2019:i:c:p:10-17. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/world-development-perspectives .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.