Explore the vast range of titles available.

In this paper, we draw the key linkages between future biofuels growth on agricultural commodity prices, and highlight some of the key uncertainties over OECD fuel and energy policies, and their implications for global agricultural markets and the world food situation. Our results show some of the implications that biofuels expansion has on crop area expansion in regions where environmental concerns exist over land use change and the possible impacts on the environment. We also point to some promising areas for future research and specify some implications for policy interventions.

This paper uses IFPRI's International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodity and Trade (IMPACT) to assess long-term agricultural supply and demand relations. Examining these new global food system realities through the lens of scenarios for agricultural supply and demand indicates that, if current policies and investment trends continue, real world prices of most cereals and meats are projected to increase in the future. Growth in demand for meat, milk, biofuels and growing scarcity in water supplies are projected to put pressure on agricultural prices and strain land and water resources further. Climate change will have negative impacts on agricultural production in much of the world. Rising prices and poor progress on food security are not, however, inevitable. Policy reforms and increased investment in agricultural research, irrigation infrastructure, and rural roads, can reduce hunger and poverty. Reprinted by permission of the American Agricultural Economics Association

The two largest producers of biofuels in the world, Brazil and U.S., both have various policy initiatives designed to meet a significant portion of their need for transportation fuels from biofuels. However, the structure of bio biofuel demand and vehicle fleets varies widely between these two economies, affecting the level of absorption of biofuels by the refiners and final consumers of each country. The relative prices of biofuels to conventional fuel prices (gasoline and diesel) determine consumers' demand not only for biofuels and but also for alternative fuel vehicles. The vehicle fleet structure, in turn, determines the ability of the transportation sector to absorb biofuels. Brazil, with its low costs of production, can sell ethanol at a competitive level with gasoline, which allows ethanol demand to expand and vehicle fleet to transform. U.S., on the other hand, cannot sell ethanol competitively. This limits market expansion and vehicle fleet transformation in the U.S., which, in turn, hinders its ability to achieve policy targets. With many countries taking initiatives to meet a large share of their transportation fuel needs from biofuels, the experiences of U.S. and Brazil provide valuable lessons for policy makers, where an in-depth analysis of the inter-linkages among relative prices, biofuel demand, and vehicle fleet structure prove to be crucial for successful and effective policy making.

This research has been undertaken to improve our understanding of stakeholdersâ[euro](TM) knowledge and perception about ecosystem services (ES), which provides a valuable means of gaining insight into the opportunities and constraints that face ES management in a multiuser landscape. Land use preferences are influenced by a variety of motives, attitudes, and values intrinsic to every individualâ[euro](TM)s decisionmaking. Knowledge can affect attitudes and behavioral intentions, and a positive attitude toward the environment has been found to predict conservation practices.