Energy Security

Navin Sharma

World Agroforestry Centre

Energy and Development

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Energy : Linkages with Hunger

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• Energy consumption is expected to increase by 50% by 2030. Bioenergy has the potential to provide 50% of global energy by 2050.

• Around 2.7 billion people will still depend on traditional sources of energy by 2030 for meeting their basic energy requirements.

• Current forms of rural biomass utilization result in a degradation of land, loss of biodiversity/soil organic carbon and in severe forms of erosion. Clearly, any future utilization of Bioenergy must address this if it is not to be self-defeating.

Challenges

Improved Livelihoods: Energy is the limiting factor for improving livelihoods. Current forms of energy for cooking, running farm machineries are unsustainable. Understanding the energy and agricultural production linkages, buffering communities against climate change shocks. Innovative energy mix need to be developed.

Improved Women Health: WHO estimates that indoor air pollution in houses contributed 1.6 million additions, deaths per year worldwide, which was equivalent to 3% of the world’s disease burden.

Energy access and Food Security: To feed the population of 9 Billion people by 2050, the food production needs to increase by 70%. Productive agriculture has become dependent on energy and requires energy inputs at almost all stages in the form of farm machinery, water management, irrigation, cultivation and harvesting.

Electricity generated out of biomass and liquid biofuels have the potential to address this very effectively.

Future Energy Mix

• There are 1.4 billion poor people living on less than US$1.25 a day. One billion of them live in rural areas where agriculture is their main source of livelihood.

• Smallholders manage over 80 per cent of the world’s estimated 500 million small farms and provide over 80 per cent of the food consumed in a large part of the developing world, contributing significantly to poverty reduction and food security.

• Promoting and developing sustainable bioenergy production for comprehensive energy provisions for small holder farmers

• Guide and frame international and national energy policies

Priorities

Opportunity

o A 1% p.a. increase in agriculture growth leads to a 2.7% increase in income

of the lowest 3 income deciles in developing countries

o Agriculture is 2.5 to 3 times more effective in increasing income of the poor

than is non-agriculture investment

o Agriculture growth, as opposed to growth in general, is typically found to be the

primary source of poverty reduction

o Need diversified sources of income and employment in rural areas, and for this,

investment – including in energy – appears to be a critical driver

o Rural areas are starved for energy, and without energy, growth is always going to

be very difficult

o Clean energy provision was missing goal of MDG but is being considered for SDG:

UN-World Bank joint initiative SE4All

o Access to Water

o Mechanization

o Fertilizer Use

Constraints for Agri Productivity

All need Energy, can locally produced Biofuels help

Increasing crop productivity and improve livelihoods?

11Chandrashekar et al 2012

Liquid BiofuelsLivelihood Main Product

The state of Tamil Nadu faces problem of frequent load shedding in rural areas, a farmer,Mr. Mr. C. Rajasekaran, from Vettaikaran Irruppu of Kilvelur taluk in Nagappattinam usesoil from tree seeds (Calophyllum inophyllum) to operate his five hp motor pump forirrigating his five acres.

His farm became unfit for any cultivation, after the tsunami struck, is now home tonearly 35 different tree varieties. Mango, Guavas, Lime, Teak, Cashew, amla, tamarind,and jack are all flourishing

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/using-bio-fuel-to-run-an-irrigation-pump-for-five-acres/article5835856.ece?homepage=true

Biofuels for Running Irrigation Pump

Biofuels for running Agriculture Equipment

• Farmers in the Hassan District of Karnataka State use SVOs to run tractors and• Other farm equipment.• Less health risks and considerable saving (Rs 25000 per annum)

Neem seed collection as a livelihood activity in Sarwad village of Bijapur Taluk, Karanataka, India

By Prabhavati (A successful Story)We a group of women were involved in the process of Neem seed collection. Each one of us

was collecting 4-5 tons of Neem seeds every season. Initially we were getting price only Rs.2-

3/ Kg. After the bio-fuel programme implementation in the state we got all the information

about the marketing and prices. There is a Bio-fuel Lead NGO who gave us information and

guided us.

Now we sell seeds to various people & oil mills and we bargain collectively for better rates. In

our villages now we have 50 Women SHG’s. Nearly 150 women are involved in the Neem

seed collection Business. Each member collects 4-5 tons of Neem seeds and gets average

Rs.30000/ per year, which is an additional income to the family apart from agricultural income.

It has helped us to improve the standard of living and quality of life in our village.

Biofuel Species & Gender

What Next?

• Need for rethinking on Biofuels that addresses current concerns: a systems based approach rather than crop based!!

• Position Biofuels for food security and livelihood improvements beyond solution for transport mix

• Refresh national policies: based on solid science

• Explore alternate models which avoids LUC and have positive carbon footprints / low carbon payback years

• Develop active linkages with global initiatives especially from the UN

• Learn from successful examples from across the globe and adopt

Challenges & Way Forward

Performance

o Evaluate impacts on livelihoods, energy contribution

o Performance of species selected and mixtures of species

o Productivity of the agroforestry system

Potential

o Focus on scaling up the existing models

o Identify policy levers to facilitate the system

o Develop biofuel value chain and ‘sweet spots’ for improvement

Promise

o Explore possibilities for PPP

o Explore opportunities to adapt model to different ecosystems

o Develop ‘bankable’ investment models that capture the essence