Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Approach

The global demand for modern bioenergy, and especially liquid biofuels, is rapidly growing, driven mainly  by climate change mitigation policies and increasing oil prices. This creates both opportunities and risks. On one hand, modern bioenergy development can boost both agricultural and rural development, by raising agricultural productivity, creating new employment and income-generating opportunities, and improving access to modern energy services. On the other hand, if not properly managed, modern bioenergy development can trigger a number of negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts, for instance by putting pressure on key resources such as land and water. The environmental and socio-economic sustainability of modern bioenergy has been highly debated over the past few years. One of the most controversial issues that has dominated this debate is the relationship between bioenergy and food security.

In order to shed light on this complex issue, FAO has developed the Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Approach, which is a key element of FAO's Sustainable Bioenergy Support Package.

The BEFS Approach supports countries in designing and implementing sustainable bioenergy policies and strategies. By doing so, it helps ensure that bioenergy development fosters both food and energy security, and that it contributes to agricultural and rural development in a climate-smart way.