Examining biofuel sustainability as an alternative energy source and implication for food security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Abstract

This study reviewed a body of literature to provide an overview of biofuel production as an alternative energy source and its implication for food security; highlighted the benefits and impact of biofuel on food security and food prices; the challenges and gaps inherent in the development of biofuel and policy framework that steered the biofuel industry in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Seventy-seven (77) scientific papers and grey literatures published between 2007 and 2017 were selected and used; with 52 scientific papers published in 26 peer-reviewed journals and 32 published literatures which includes documents from Food and Agriculture Organization/UN Environment Programme (FAO/UNEP), The World Bank, ACTIONAID, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and South Africa’s Department of Minerals and Energy. The review revealed that sustaining biofuel production is a convoluted process that requires dealing with many facets within and around its production and use. Expansion of biofuel production may therefore be executed at the expense of local, national, and global food security. Furthermore, it is also important for SSA policy makers to identify the local and national context within which the biofuel production revolve. The paper recommended a strict biofuel sustainability scheme that sets proper regulations and control on bioenergy production, which guarantees food security. The debate and hysterics on the potential risk of increased biofuel production impacting on food security must be examined. The conflicting interest and the trade-offs that characterized biofuel development must be settled with effective and planned policies to unlock the desired potential for biofuel sector in SSA.