Biomass is more than energy

25 September 2012
The Phnom Penh Post
Agricultural production / Agriculture and fishing / Biofuel crops / Crop products and commodities / Economy and commerce / Energy / Environment and natural resources / Generation and distribution facilities / Renewable energy production / Sugar
AREA project / bioenergy production / biofuel sources / Forests / GERES / green energy / NGOs

Rural Cambodian communities are seeing economic benefits as a result of a biomass and farming resilience project run by GERES, a French NGO. As part of the AREA project, 200 households in Kampong Chhnang province are growing 22 varieties of trees to negate the effects of deforestation, including the shortage of fuel wood. ...

Cambodia is abundant in biofuel sources, such as sugarcane and coconut shells; however, they need to be planted on a large scale, using land that can be used for food, according to Van Rijn. ...

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation is currently offering technical assistance to the ASEAN secretariat to ensure that bioenergy production does not infringe on food production in the region, according to it’s website, which states: “Bioenergy also offers opportunities to increase incomes and employment in rural areas, provided that appropriate policies and investments are put in place to enable smallholders to take advantage of growing biofuel markets.”

 Erika Mudie, P. 10
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/biomass-benefit-rural-cambodia