Biofuels and Food Security: Micro-Evidence from Ethiopia
34 Pages Posted: 15 Jun 2013
Date Written: September 17, 2012
Abstract
This paper provides microeconomic evidence on food security impacts of privately organized biofuel outgrower schemes in Ethiopia. We conducted a household and community level survey and evaluated the impact of castor bean farming. We use endogenous switching regressions to analyze the impact on food security. Food security (as measured by a “food gap”) and food caloric intake is significantly better in households producing castor beans. “Fuel” and “food” are complements rather than substitutes at the micro-level in castor production in Ethiopia.
Keywords: biofuel, castor, food security, Ethiopia
JEL Classification: Q42, Q16, O13, Q12
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