Biofuels and Food Security: Implications of an Accelerated Biofuels Production

Biofuels development has received increased attention in recent times as a means to mitigate climate change, alleviate global energy concerns and foster rural development. Its perceived importance in these three areas has seen biofuels feature prominently on the international agenda. Nevertheless, the rapid growth of biofuels production has raised many concerns among experts worldwide, in particular with regard to sustainability issues and the threat posed to food security. The UN Secretary General, in his opening remarks to the High-level Segment of the 16th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, stated that: "We need to ensure that policies promoting biofuels are consistent with maintaining food security and achieving sustainable development goals." Aware of a lack of integrated scientific analysis, OFID has commissioned this study, Biofuels and Food Security, which has been prepared by the renowned International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). This seminal research work assesses the impact on developing countries of wide-scale production and use of biofuels, in terms of both sustainable agriculture and food security. The unique feature of this study is that its quantified findings are derived from a scenario approach based on a peer reviewed modelling framework, which has contributed to the work of many scientific fora such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the United Nations (Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg). One of the key conclusions of the study is that an accelerated growth of first-generation biofuels production is threatening the availability of adequate food supplies for humans, by diverting land, water and other resources away from food and feed crops. Meanwhile, the "green" contribution of biofuels is seen as deceptive, with mainly second-generation biofuels appearing to offer interesting prospects. Sustainability issues (social, economic and environmental), the impact on land use, as well as many risk aspects are amongst the key issues tackled in the research. With the publication of this study, OFID seeks to uphold its time-honored tradition of promoting debate on issues of special interest to developing countries, including the OFID/OPEC Member States

Biofuels and Food Security

Biofuels development has received increased attention in recent times as a means to mitigate climate change, alleviate global energy concerns and foster rural development. Its perceived importance in these three areas has seen biofuels feature prominently on the international agenda. Nevertheless, the rapid growth of biofuels production has raised many concerns among experts worldwide, in particular with regard to sustainability issues and the threat posed to food security. The UN Secretary General, in his opening remarks to the High-level Segment of the 16th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, stated that: "We need to ensure that policies promoting biofuels are consistent with maintaining food security and achieving sustainable development goals." Aware of a lack of integrated scientific analysis, OFID has commissioned this study, Biofuels and Food Security, which has been prepared by the renowned International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). This seminal research work assesses the impact on developing countries of wide-scale production and use of biofuels, in terms of both sustainable agriculture and food security. The unique feature of this study is that its quantified findings are derived from a scenario approach based on a peer reviewed modelling framework, which has contributed to the work of many scientific fora such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the United Nations (Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg). One of the key conclusions of the study is that an accelerated growth of first-generation biofuels production is threatening the availability of adequate food supplies for humans, by diverting land, water and other resources away from food and feed crops. Meanwhile, the "green" contribution of biofuels is seen as deceptive, with mainly second-generation biofuels appearing to offer interesting prospects. Sustainability issues (social, economic and environmental), the impact on land use, as well as many risk aspects are amongst the key issues tackled in the research. With the publication of this study, OFID seeks to uphold its time-honored tradition of promoting debate on issues of special interest to developing countries, including the OFID/OPEC Member States

Integrated modeling approach to the analysis of food security and sustainable rural developments: Ukrainian case study

In Ukraine, the growth of intensive agricultural enterprises with a focus on fast profits contributes considerably to food insecurity and increasing socio-economic and environmental risks. Ukraine has important natural and labor resources for effective rural development. For example, more than 50% of food production is still managed in small and medium farms despite the difficulties associated with economic instabilities and the lack of proper policy support. The main issue for the agro-policy nowadays is to use these resources in a sustainable way enforcing robust long term development of rural communities and agriculture. In this paper, we introduce a stochastic geographically explicit model for designing forward looking policies regarding robust resources allocation and composition of agricultural production enhancing food security and rural development. In particular, we investigate the role of investments into rural facilities to stabilize and enhance the performance of the agrofood sector in view of uncertainties and incomplete information. The security goals are introduced in the form of multidimensional risk indicators

Changes in empowerment and anxiety of patients and parents during genetic counselling for epilepsy

Genetic testing and counselling are increasingly important in epilepsy care, aiming at finding a diagnosis, understanding aetiology and improving treatment and outcome. The psychological impact of genetic counselling from patients' or parents & rsquo; perspectives is, however, unknown. We studied the counseleereported outcome of genetic counselling before and after genetic testing for epilepsy by evaluating empowerment - a key outcome goal of counselling reflecting cognitive, decisional and behavioural control, emotional regulation and hope - and anxiety. We asked patients or their parents (for those (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of European Paediatric Neurology Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Hereditary cancer registries improve the care of patients with a genetic predisposition to cancer:contributions from the Dutch Lynch syndrome registry

The Dutch Hereditary Cancer Registry was established in 1985 with the support of the Ministry of Health (VWS). The aims of the registry are: (1) to promote the identification of families with hereditary cancer, (2) to encourage the participation in surveillance programs of individuals at high risk, (3) to ensure the continuity of lifelong surveillance examinations, and (4) to promote research, in particular the improvement of surveillance protocols. During its early days the registry provided assistance with family investigations and the collection of medical data, and recommended surveillance when a family fulfilled specific diagnostic criteria. Since 2000 the registry has focused on family follow-up, and ensuring the quality of surveillance programs and appropriate clinical management. Since its founding, the registry has identified over 10,000 high-risk individuals with a diverse array of hereditary cancer syndromes. All were encouraged to participate in prevention programmes. The registry has published a number of studies that evaluated the outcome of surveillance protocols for colorectal cancer (CRC) in Lynch syndrome, as well as in familial colorectal cancer. In 2006, evaluation of the effect of registration and colonoscopic surveillance on the mortality rate associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) showed that the policy led to a substantial decrease in the mortality rate associated with CRC. Following discovery of MMR gene defects, the first predictive model that could select families for genetic testing was published by the Leiden group. In addition, over the years the registry has produced many cancer risk studies that have helped to develop appropriate surveillance protocols. Hereditary cancer registries in general, and the Lynch syndrome registry in particular, play an important role in improving the clinical management of affected families.</p

Patient-reported burden of intensified surveillance and surgery in high-risk individuals under pancreatic cancer surveillance

In high-risk individuals participating in a pancreatic cancer surveillance program, worrisome features warrant for intensified surveillance or, occasionally, surgery. Our objectives were to determine the patient-reported burden of intensified surveillance and/or surgery, and to assess post-operative quality of life and opinion of surgery. Participants in our pancreatic cancer surveillance program completed questionnaires including the Cancer Worry Scale (CWS) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). For individuals who underwent intensified surveillance, questionnaires before, during, and ≥ 3 weeks after were analyzed. In addition, subjects who underwent intensified surveillance in the past 3 years or underwent surgery at any time, were invited for an interview, that included the Short-Form 12 (SF-12). A total of 31 high-risk individuals were studied. During the intensified surveillance period, median CWS scores were higher (14, IQR 7), as compared to before (12, IQR 9, P = 0.007) and after (11, IQR 7, P = 0.014), but eventually returned back to baseline (P = 0.823). Median HADS scores were low: 5 (IQR 6) for anxiety and 3 (IQR 5) for depression, and they were unaff

Intensification of dairy production can increase the GHG mitigation potential of the land use sector in East Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) could face food shortages in the future because of its growing population. Agricultural expansion causes forest degradation in SSA through livestock grazing, reducing forest carbon (C) sinks and increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, intensification should produce more food while reducing pressure on forests. This study assessed the potential for the dairy sector in Kenya to contribute to low-emissions development by exploring three feeding scenarios. The analyses used empirical spatially explicit data, and a simulation model to quantify milk production, agricultural emissions and forest C loss due to grazing. The scenarios explored improvements in forage quality (Fo), feed conservation (Fe) and concentrate supplementation (Co): FoCo fed high-quality Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum), FeCo supplemented maize silage and FoFeCo a combination of Napier, silage and concentrates. Land shortages and forest C loss due to grazing were quantified with land requirements and feed availability around forests. All scenarios increased milk yields by 44%–51%, FoCo reduced GHG emission intensity from 2.4 ± 0.1 to 1.6 ± 0.1 kg CO2eq per kg milk, FeCo reduced it to 2.2 ± 0.1, whereas FoFeCo increased it to 2.7 ± 0.2 kg CO2eq per kg milk because of land use change emissions. Closing the yield gap of maize by increasing N fertilizer use reduced emission intensities by 17% due to reduced emissions from conversion of grazing land. FoCo was the only scenario that mitigated agricultural and forest emissions by reducing emission intensity by 33% and overall emissions by 2.5% showing that intensification of dairy in a low-income country can increase milk yields without increasing emissions. There are, however, risks of C leakage if agricultural and forest policies are not aligned leading to loss of forest to produce concentrates. This approach will aid the assessment of the climate-smartness of livestock production practices at the national level in East Africa