TABLE 10: Water requirements for biofuel crops
| CROP |
Annual obtainable fuel yield |
Energy yield |
Evapotranspiration equivalent |
Potential crop evapotranspiration |
Rainfed crop evapotranspiration |
Irrigated crop water requirement |
| (Litres/ha) |
(GJ/ha) |
(Litres/litre fuel) |
(mm/ha) |
(mm/ha) |
(mm/ha) 1 |
(Litres/litre fuel) |
1 On the assumption of 50 percent irrigation
efficiency.
Source: FAO. |
| Sugar cane |
6 000 |
120 |
2 000 |
1 400 |
1 000 |
800 |
1 333 |
| Maize |
3 500 |
70 |
1 357 |
550 |
400 |
300 |
857 |
| Oil palm |
5 500 |
193 |
2 364 |
1 500 |
1 300 |
0 |
0 |
| Rapeseed |
1 200 |
42 |
3 333 |
500 |
400 |
0 |
0 |
Source: FAO, The State of Food and Agriculture, Biofuels: Prospects, Risks and Opportunities (2008) 
,
Chapter 5, p.64
Related publication:
Other Figures & Tables on this publication:
TABLE 1: Biofuel production by country, 2007
TABLE 2: Biofuel yields for different feedstocks and countries
TABLE 3: Hypothetical potential for ethanol from principal cereal and sugar crops
TABLE 4: Voluntary and mandatory bioenergy targets for transport fuels in G8+5
countries
TABLE 5: Applied tariffs on ethanol in selected countries
TABLE 6: Total support estimates for biofuels in selected OECD economies in 2006
TABLE 7: Approximate average and variable rates of support per litre of biofuel in
selected OECD economies
TABLE 8: Energy demand by source and sector: reference scenario
TABLE 9: Land requirements for biofuel production
TABLE 10: Water requirements for biofuel crops
TABLE 11: Import bills of total food and major food commodities for 2007 and their
percentage increase over 2006
TABLE 12: Net importers of petroleum products and major cereals, ranked by
prevalence of undernourishment
TABLE 13: Share of net staple food-seller households among urban, rural and total
households
Box 1: Other types of biomass for heat, power and transport
Box 2: Biotechnology applications for biofuels
Box 3: Biofuel policies in Brazil
Box 4: Biofuel policies in the United States of America
Box 5: Biofuel policies in the European Union
Box 6: Main sources of uncertainty for biofuel projections
Box 7: Biofuels and the World Trade Organization
Box 8: Biofuels and preferential trade initiatives
Box 9: The Global Bioenergy Partnership
Box 10: Biofuels and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Box 11: Jatropha – a “miracle” crop?
Box 12: Agricultural growth and poverty reduction
Box 13: Cotton in the Sahel
Box 14: Biofuel crops and the land issue in the United Republic of Tanzania
Figure 1: World primary energy demand by source, 2005
Figure 2: Total primary energy demand by source and region, 2005
Figure 3: Trends in consumption of transport biofuels
Figure 4: Biofuels – from feedstock to end use
Figure 5: Uses of biomass for energy
Figure 6: Conversion of agricultural feedstocks into liquid biofuels
Figure 7: Estimated ranges of fossil energy balances of selected fuel types
Figure 8: Support provided at different points in the biofuel supply chain
Figure 9: Biofuel production costs in selected countries, 2004 and 2007
Figure 10: Breakeven prices for crude oil and selected feedstocks in 2005
Figure 11: Breakeven prices for maize and crude oil in the United States of
America
Figure 12: Breakeven prices for maize and crude oil with and without subsidies
Figure 13: Maize and crude oil breakeven prices and observed prices, 2003–08
Figure 14: Price relationships between crude oil and other biofuel feedstocks,
2003-08
Figure 15: Food commodity price trends 1971–2007, with projections to 2017
Figure 16: Global ethanol production, trade and prices, with projections to 2017
Figure 17: Major ethanol producers, with projections to 2017
Figure 18: Global biodiesel production, trade and prices, with projections to 2017
Figure 19: Major biodiesel producers, with projections to 2017
Figure 20: Total impact of removing trade-distorting biofuel policies for ethanol,
2013–17 average
Figure 21: Total impact of removing trade-distorting biofuel policies for
biodiesel, 2013–17 average
Figure 22: Life-cycle analysis for greenhouse gas balances
Figure 23: Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of selected biofuels relative to
fossil fuels
Figure 24: Potential for cropland expansion
Figure 25: Potential for yield increase for selected biofuel feedstock crops
Figure 26: Potential for irrigated area expansion
Figure 27: Agricultural trade balance of least-developed countries
Figure 28: Distribution of poor net buyers and sellers of staple foods1
Figure 29: Average welfare gain/loss from a 10 percent increase in the price of
the main staple, by income (expenditure) quintile for rural and urban households
