Strategies to develop biofuel production without sacrificing food supplies will be one of the headline issues to be tackled at a Latin America conference by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) this week in Brasilia.
FAO studies show demand, and therefore prices, for food is skyrocketing in developing countries, while interest also is growing in transforming arable land into profitable biofuel terrain.
Brazil has a leading role in the debate, being both a major agricultural and biofuel exporter.
FAO’s representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jose Graziano, himself a Brazilian, said that even though “there are no absolute truths in terms of biofuel, there is a positive or negative effect on food security and the environment, depending on how it is developed.”
Right now, he says, the food sector “is under speculative attack,” made vulnerable by low stocks and demand that has made it more precious.
Some countries, including Brazil, are benefiting from the extra money flowing into their coffers from exports.
But FAO sees that scenario as being volatile, according to a report on biofuel production and food security to be presented at the conference.
The report details the pros and cons of using crops to make fuel, along with the scale of exchanges, the systems used and the structure of markets dealing with the output.
It is not all negative. The report also notes that, if properly applied, biofuel programs can bring benefits to family-run farms across Latin America.
Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, on a trip to the Netherlands, denied there was a link between rising food prices and biofuels, and called on “the responsibility of the developed countries to reduce the distortions that affect the developing countries” because of farm subsidies.
The FAO conference is to be attended by ministers and senior government officials from 33 countries.
The head of the UN food agency, Jacques Diouf, told a news conference in Rome on Friday that soaring cereal prices were a growing threat to world peace and security and to the human rights of developing countries facing food crises.
At least five people have died in violent protests against high food and fuel prices in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Similar disturbances have rocked Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries in the past month.
In Pakistan and Thailand, army troops have been deployed to avoid the seizure of food from fields and warehouses.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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