ABSTRACT
The idea of producing agro-biofuels on a large scale to replace fossil fuels is a bad one. Excepting ethanol from sugar cane, the implementation of policies based on this idea should be considered a combination of a blunder and a hoax. The special case of ethanol production from sugar cane in Brazil represents a feasible option, but its desirability in relation to economic development and environmental impact is doubtful. We strongly believe that in the short term, developed countries will stop spending public money to support largescale agro-biofuel production. Therefore, developing countries should realize that in the near future, subsidies might no longer be available to encourage the import of their agro-biofuels. Hence, policies aimed at implementing the cultivation of agro-biofuel in developing countries could be disastrous in the medium to long term.
