Investigating the water use of biofuel crops

The project on water use of strategic biofuel crops was informed by recommendations from previous studies, as well as by policy related to biofuel production in South Africa, such as the policy paper released by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS, 2016) which supports the cultivation of biofuel feedstocks under rainfed conditions. In addition, the draft Biofuel Regulatory Framework, published in 2014, highlighted soybean and sorghum as reference feedstocks to represent the production of biodiesel and bioethanol, respectively. It also strongly supported the inclusion of smallholder farmers in the biofuel value chain.