Biofuels versus food: Understanding the trade-offs between climate friendly crop and food security

The present paper analyzes the impact of Jatropha plantation on food production in North East India. It is based on the primary data collected from 281 farmers, consisting of the present and past Jatropha growers, from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh through multistage random sampling technique. Food production in the region is hypothesized to be affected by agricultural land conversion and labor diversion from food to Jatropha plantations. Non-parametric tests and Probit models were used to examine the effects of Jatropha plantation on food production. The results show that the probability of a reduction in food production does indeed increase if either agricultural land is converted or labor is diverted from food production to Jatropha. However, the conversion of agricultural land and diversion of labor from food production to Jatropha plantation is more likely among the past-growers. Thus, it appears that while Jatropha plantation may set back the food production in the short-run, this adverse effect may reduce in the long-run. Regulation on land use pattern along with higher agricultural productivity may minimize the intensity of land conversion and labor diversion to Jatropha. Moreover, use of degraded land, intercropping, and third-generation biofuels may reduce the food versus biofuels conflict.