IFPRI BIOFUELS AND FOOD SECURITY WORKSHOP:

ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITYA Southern African smallholder perspective

18-20 November 2014

Maxwell MapakoCSIR Enterprise Creation for Development

Summary

• The land tenure systems (traditional/statutory) in Southern Africa leave communities as key custodians of the environment

• Unequal interactions (around biofuels) between communities, local/state authorities, and investors weaken the custodianship role of communities

• The regional development of the biofuels industry has had a chequered history thus far, potentially damaging its reputation and leaving altered landscapes

The biofuels production status

• Tens of thousands of ha planted, millions of ha planned

• A new industry if a changing policy environment• Mix of different management systems• Wide range of production scales, up to

thousands of ha plantations• Large projects are monoculture (biodiversity

loss, deforestation risks, community displacement)

Realities among communities

• Land that is being used in biofuels projects is often NOT idle/unused

• Often communal or state land is allocated to investors. May entail displacement (to?) and friction

• Experience with biofuel feedstock production limited at all scales

• Few cases of actual commercial biofuel production• Considerable flux in pvt sector activity (what’s left

behind?)• JCL yields lower than expected (temptation to use

inputs? pesticides? other land?)

Local use or export markets

• Local energy security use can impact local wood/charcoal, coal and imported fossil fuel use

• Will imply significant changes in cooking practices and devices used by households

• ~80% of rural household energy is fuelwood (opportunity)

Pesticides ?

6

Limited extension services; complex cropping systems

7

THANK YOU