Tension over land use is brought into sharp focus by the conflicting demands of food and energy security.To inform policy, the Government set up the Gallagher Review to assess the indirect effects of biofuel production on land use, greenhouse gas emissions, food production and socio-economics.
ADAS contributed a key report to the review: whether increased agricultural productivity world-wide could meet the demands of both biofuels and food supplies to 2020.
Using a variety of international data sources, ADAS assessed potential increases in the global production of staples like maize, wheat, sugar cane, soya and second generation biomass crops like palm oil and jatropha.
Based on the data, the ADAS team’s research found a consistent rise in the productivity of most primary crops in most environments – usually a one per cent annual rise. But such increases will not meet future demand: the magnitude of improvement must increase.
To these ends, the report recommended policies should focus on refined species choice and selective breeding; better land drainage in temperate regions and sophisticated irrigation in subtropical areas; investment in labour and machinery; more focused use of agrochemicals and improved land management, including crop rotation.
Optimistically, the report did not identify any technical obstacles to sustainable higher yields, but suggested that policies to develop biofuel resources should be matched by R&D into increased productivity.
Ultimately, the Gallagher Review called for a tempered adoption of biofuels to allow time for research to fully understand the potential opportunities presented by biofuels – a key recommendation of ADAS’ report.
The report is available here. For further information contact Daniel Kindred on 01954 268259 or e-mail Daniel.Kindred@adas.co.uk.