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The last decade has seen a surging demand for biofuels in the wake of increasing oil prices and rising environmental concerns. The most common biofuel is bio-ethanol accounting for more than 90% of total biofuel usage. It is increasingly produced from sugar cane making cane a strategic crop for biofuels. Given the growing demand for “green” fuels, bio-ethanol production has been supported by energy policies in the past decade, which have consequently been accused of contributing to the global trend of rising food prices and thus jeopardising food security. However, while biofuel policies are an important driver, prices as much as food security will ultimately be determined by supply constraints of strategic crops. This paper hence investigates drivers of and constraints to sugar cane production in (the) People’s Republic of China and India and shows that supply side constraints vary significantly in the two countries. (the) PRC and India both face serious limitations with regard to suitable available land for the further expansion of sugar cane production. Equally they are both faced with challenges to increasing yield output per hectare, albeit different ones. With regard to productivity, (the) PRC achieved 2.7% annual yield growth since 1997, while India has seen yield decreases of −0.1% p.a. over the same period. The authors conclude that cane used as a feedstock to meet the rising energy demand will come at the expense of converting fertile land for non-food purposes.
The key findings of this report are that sesame is a suitable crop for poverty alleviation for smallholders in Benishangul Gumuz and that the smallholder model is competitive versus
the large-scale investor model in terms of productivity. Farmers can achieve high profits without significant up-front investments. With minimal expenditure for sesame seeds and
some simple equipment for ploughing, weeding and harvesting, farmers can cultivate sesame on a family labor basis. Potential income is higher in the smallholder model than
from either communal land management, or from the salaries from large-scale investors. However, this potential is mirrored by the highest risk for farmers to
receive the lowest income. Smallholders can mitigate this risk as well as increase their income further through membership of primary production co-operatives that offer higher sales prices and paid-out dividends.