not currently suitable for crop production and would require large investments in irrigation and other infrastructure before it could produce crops. In addition to these economic barriers, a large-scale expansion of agricultural production for biofuels would also encounter environmental limits in the form of water availability and threats to natural vegetation and forests (Berndes et al., 2003). Climate change will also affect these factors in the envisioned timeframe. Finally, increasing the demand for biomass for biofuels production could have considerable impact on food prices—threatening food security for many poor net buyers of food.

 Agricultural energy requirements and consumption. It is highly likely that towards 2050 many countries in sub- Saharan Africa will continue to have some of the lowest per capita energy consumption levels in the world. The projected increase in yields and production in agriculture as a result of energy inputs can lead to important social and environmental gains. Agro-industrial growth will in itself increase energy requirements (Smeets et al., 2007). An assessment of the region’s future agricultural energy demand and supply is complex due to unique social and political elements as well as concerns for the food security of millions of people. The past and present energy situation in Africa’s agricultural sector has been analyzed systematically, showing that agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa will continue to be closely associated with direct and indirect energy inputs, and there will be continued need for policies to consolidate this relationship for the benefit of