WHAT IS THE ENERGY CRISIS?
The energy crisis refers to any period of time when there is a difficulty in production or supply of energy. It can also refer to the consequences of certain political issues that lead to constraints on energy available. It is usually when there is a shortage of supply and very high demand, due to which prices of fuel increase. At the same time, it covers the transition from one energy source to another which tends to be expensive and difficult, leading to problems in the energy sector.
WHY IS THERE AN ENERGY CRISIS TODAY?
Currently, the world is undergoing an energy crisis because of issues like global warming. Due to increasing global temperatures leading to climate change, the awareness of these consequences has increased leading to a greater inclination to switch to more renewable sources of energy. By doing so, it is possible to envision a more sustainable future for countries with reduced dependency on non-renewables. However, this change in the infrastructure of the energy sector leads to a lot of uncertainty because it means that it is expensive and will take a lot of time to develop such technologies.
THE FOOD VS FUEL DEBATE
The main source of biofuels, especially in Africa, comes from crops meaning that when used as biofuels, they can’t be used as a source of food. This poses a huge problem given that 12.9% of the world’s population and 20.0% of Africa’s population suffers from starvation and malnourishment. This diversion of crops from food to fuel has led to an increase in world hunger from 777 million people in 2015 to 815 million people in 2016.
The reduced dependency on non-renewables leads to increases in demand for biofuels. Not only does this lead to a shortage of supply of food crops, but it also leads to an increase in prices which disproportionately affects countries in Africa already suffering from hunger and starvation. This may not necessarily always be the case because there are a number of crops such as Jatropha and sugar cane that are high in yield due to commercial farming. Consequently, they do not contribute to the food vs fuel crisis, meaning that it does not contribute to the energy crisis, but instead helps in reducing it in an environmentally sustainable manner.
THE ENERGY CRISIS IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT
For many countries, posing the food vs fuel debate can be counterproductive because both are equally important, yet equally as inaccessible. In Botswana, due to recent increases in investment in the drought-tolerant Jatropha crop, the sizes of plantations being used for this crop yield has increased, allowing for higher yield and increased biofuel production. Similarly, in Egypt, the growth of Jatropha crops is taking off, leading to not only a new source of biofuels, but it also means that crops that could be used for food aren’t being diverted away.
On the other hand, there have been adverse effects felt by certain African countries such as Senegal where food riots broke out due to the shortage of food and price hikes. An effective way to combat this is for governments to invest in more efficient and sustainable methods of production to increase crop yield which can be used as food supplies. Investing not only in biofuels as a source of energy but also solar energy should be undertaken as this is the easiest and most abundant energy source to tap into, in Africa. This will allow the continent to reduce CO2 emissions by 27% while also reducing starvation. Especially because of the drought and desertification-prone climate in most parts of Africa, it is important to ensure that starvation and malnourishment is dealt with because it can have plenty of adverse effects on the population. Thus, we can see how the growth of crops in the food vs fuel debate can be done tactically in a socio-economically and environmentally beneficial way.
