ABSTRACT
Governments have land-use objectives beyond, and sometimes in conflict with, those of the individual farmer. Pastoralists who live in semi-arid lands have a very good appreciation of the environment in which they live. In order to avoid food/fuel conflicts, people have recommended planting bioenergy crops on marginal lands. Issues of land tenure and land-use rights are frequently quoted as obstacles to bioenergy projects. The land-use objectives of government agencies and rural people are often different, and they can come into conflict especially when governments, claiming ownership of land traditionally used by local residents, assert control of the land, or assign it to outside commercial interests. Since land use for biomass energy production is so tied up with food production and environmental protection, they cannot be treated separately. The main competition to the use of fertile land for local food production continues to be from cash crops for export.
