Researchers say continued R&D and policy support needed for bioenergy crops

In Wisconsin, improvement in biotechnology and bioengineering provide new opportunities to produce advanced biofuels from non-food crops; however, it is critical to continue investment in research and development and provide policy incentives for producing bioenergy crops for advanced biofuels.

In a new article in the Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy (AEPP), Past President of AAEA, and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, David Zilberman along with Madhu Khanna and Deepayan Debnath from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Deepak Rajagopal from the University of California, Los Angeles, examine why biofuels are needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

Madhu Khanna says, “We argue that the potential of biofuel has not yet been fully realized. There are opportunities to increase farmers’ income by increasing productivity of traditional crops and releasing cropland for biofuels, increasing biofuels from non-food crops and making food and biofuel complementary rather than in conflict.”

The article “The Future of Biofuels in an Electrifying Global Transportation Sector: Imperative, Prospects and Challenges” is available on the AEPP website for a limited time. This research was funded by the USDOE’s Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproduct Innovation and by the Global Climate and Energy Project.