Biofuels in Eastern Africa: dangers yes, but much potential as well

The potential to produce biofuels in developing countries is vast. Yet there are significant concerns over large-scale development of biofuels. Either current land use would need to be intensified to accommodate biofuel production, probably driving up costs of production, raising food prices, and hurting poor consumers in a world that is increasingly urban. Or else large swathes of land not being cultivated at present would have to be converted to feedstock. This would often include converting tropical forests, peat bogs and wetlands to biofuel production. To understand more about the balance between opportunity and threat represented by biofuels, four countries in Eastern Africa — Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania — were chosen for specific study by ODI in partnership with local researchers.