APAARI in collaboration with IRRI, CIMMYT and ICRISAT organized an expert consultation meeting on 27 – 29 August 2007. The objective was to: (i) discuss how bioenergy production may have an impact on global and regional food security and the sustainability of key agricultural systems in Asia, (ii) summarize current understanding of bioenergy options for key crops and cropping systems in Asia, (iii) identify key options and research priorities for designing and evaluating integrated food-bioenergy production systems for Asia, and (iii) develop a framework for research on biofuels in key agricultural systems of Asia and agree on follow-up activities, including meetings with public and private sector partners.

In all, 44 participants attended the Expert Consultation organized into five sessions: (i) Global opportunities and constraints, (ii) Country Status Reports, (iii) Food Security vs Biofuels in Asia, and (iv) Plenary Session and General Recommendations. There was consensus that biofuels will play a major role in the global economy of the future. Many countries are exploring different strategies and policies on alternative energy sources; and the Asia-Pacific region, in particular, is expected to play a significant role in development and promotion of biofuels. Besides general recommendations, specific recommendations were made on three different bioenergy technologies: (i) bioenergy from thermal conversion of biomass, (ii) ethanol from sugar, starch or cellulose biomass, (iii) biodiesel from oil crops.