AT: Famine – Alt Cause – Biofuels

AT: Famine – Alt Cause – Biofuels

Other factors have driven the breathtaking inflation and volatility in food markets over the last few years. These include a rising global population, millions more people shifting to western diets, declining crop yield growth, years of under-investment, extreme weather, high oil prices increasing the cost of inputs such as fertiliser, low stock levels, and kneejerk actions by governments such as food export bans and panic buying by importers. But it is biofuels that have been the real game changer. As the International Monetary Fund observed in 2008, biofuels accounted for 1.5% of global liquid fuels supply that year, but represented nearly half the increase in food crop consumption, mainly because of corn-based ethanol in the US. While they only accounted for a small fraction of liquid fuels, the fact that they represented 75% of the net increase in non-Opec liquid fuels in 2008 goes a long way towards explaining why oil importers have taken to them with such enthusiasm. That's scant comfort to the billion or so poor people who don't get enough to eat – they have seen food prices rise still further out of reach as a result of biofuel support policies. Is the tide finally turning against corn-based ethanol and other inefficient "first generation" biofuels? At first glance, it might look like wishful thinking. The US farm lobby, never shy in pushing for its interests, has taken to ethanol with a passion. With presidential elections looming, the Obama administration has been careful not to offend agribusiness: a speech on food security by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, this month failed to mention the words "ethanol" or "biofuels" even once. The EU, too, looks in no mood to rethink its target of obtaining 10% of transport fuels from biofuel by 2020.

AT: Famine – Squo Solves – China Rice

China switching to aerobic rice now—solves any potential shortage.
NYT 7 (New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/business/worldbusiness/23iht-rice.1.8012673.html, accessed 7/8/11) CJQ

BEIJING — China, the world's top consumer and producer of rice, is turning to a new kind of rice that can grow on dry soil like wheat as the country faces a serious water shortage due to industrialization and global warming. China, a pioneer in aerobic rice, plans to expand acreage for it to about 30 percent from about 1 percent now as the water shortage limits expansion of traditional water-flooded rice, or lowland rice, said Wang Huaqi, an aerobic rice breeder at China Agricultural University. Together with the International Rice Research Institute, the university has been working on aerobic rice that is grown like the upland crops of wheat and corn in soil that is not flooded or paddled. Aerobic rice requires 50 percent to 70 percent less water, although its yields are about 30 percent less than hybrid rice - a strain that brought about the Green Revolution in the 1960s, Wang said. Bas Bouman, a senior scientist at the rice research institute, said, "Our objective is to help farmers cope with decreasing water availability. Water is getting scarce."

AT: Famine – Squo Solves – China Rice

Chinese yield can exceed all expectations—status quo fertilization means that the PRC can overcome any shortfalls.
Jin, Wu and Liu 2 (ji-yun, PPI/PPC, Ronggui, Dept. Dir. NW Rgn., Rongle, PPI/PPIC, accessed 7/8/11) CJQ

Results clearly indicated that overall rice production and farmer income were significantly improved by balanced fertilization. The average best yields achieved with balanced NPK fertilization for rice grown in southern China, regardless of planting season, increased substantially. Omitting K (NP treatment) from the balanced fertilization treatment resulted in significant paddy yield reductions of 13, 22, and 9 percent for early, late, and middle rice, respectively. Average paddy yield of all trials (including early, late, and middle season rice) with the best treatments was 8,150 kg/ha, with a 13.3 percent yield reduction if K was not used. The average net benefit from K application ranged from 459 Chinese yuan (RMB) per hectare for middle season rice to 1,690 RMB/ha for late season rice (8.2 yuan = US$1). To achieve high yield rice production, rational input of inorganic fertilizers is a key management practice. The weighted mean of N, able 3. Rice yield responses to balanced fertilization in the 1990s in China. Rice Fertilizer use, kg/ha Paddy yield, kg/ha Yield increase Net benefit Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of trials conducted. P 2 O5 , and K2 O rates in the best treatments from southern China were 176, 76, and 174 kg/ha, respectively. With a ratio of 1.0:0.4:1 (Table 3), these rates were much more balanced than farmer practice (survey data), with a ratio of 2.8:0.8:1 (Table 2). As a result of rational rates and balanced use of inorganic fertilizers, yield and farmer profit were remarkably improved (Table 3). Balanced fertilization field research on rice in northern China did not begin until the early 1990s. Results show that an average best yield of 7,800 kg/ha using soil test-based balanced fertilization recommendations required 202 kg/ha N, 112 kg/ha P 2 O5 and 127 kg/ha K2 O, giving a ratio of 1.6:0.9:1 (Table 3). Omitting K from the balanced fertilization treatment resulted in a 16 percent yield reduction. Stated another way, one kg of K2 O produced 10.7 kg of paddy grain. The average net benefit from K application in the north was 1,515 RMB/ha. The approach taken by PPI/PPIC in developing the balanced fertilization technology was to use soil testing as a basis for identifying all plant nutrient deficiencies and assuring these nutrients were applied. Since this is a site-specific technology, it must be made clear that fertilization practices at the different sites reported in these discussions were not equal. As well, secondary and micronutrients were applied as needed. It is important to note that it is highly unlikely that the magnitude of yields obtained would have been achieved had these additional plant nutrients not been applied. Unpublished data in reports of field trials at the various sites support this statement. In summary, it is clear that great potential remains to further increase rice production in China through adoption of improved fertilization techniques. If the research evidence had been implemented and 10 percent higher yield levels achieved, in 1999 China would have produced an extra 20 M t of rice (a production value of 28 billion RMB). Current PPI/PPIC China Program activities are highlighting the transfer of fertilizer technology to farmers since it is obvious this message has not been received on a widespread basis.

Directory: files
files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2
files -> Integer programming and game theory
files -> 4 Integer Programming
files -> Bpa vehicle Window Repair Scenario #1 task: Procure vehicle window relacement. Objective
files -> Pop Warner History
files -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose
files -> Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Program Data: Standard 1 Exhibit 4d
files -> Hanban – asia society confucius classrooms network 2010 request for proposal
files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations

Download 0.58 Mb.

Share with your friends: