Biofuel farming is encouraged by the developed economies which means a lot of money in pumped into the developing countries and thereby a scramble for such financial resources is there from all levels of agricultural sector including politicians and government officials.

Biofuel farming is booming and big farmers are likely to benefit more than anyone. Focus is more on liquid biofuel than food products. More and more lands are acquired to produce biofuels.

Biofuel farming is resource intensive. Small farmers and women farmers especially neither possess nor have the clout and capacity to garner such resources to do such farming at an extensive level. Though biofuel farming is possible in less fertile and arid soils yet it requires resources like water, fertilizers, pesticides etc. that are scarce now. Demand for water and fuel would mean more and more depletion of natural resources.

Rural women have to travel long distances for drinking water and fuel. This takes away a lot of their time which they could have used to supplement their income. Large scale biofuel farming may make water and fuel all the more scarcer for the survival of the poor. Women farmers would be disadvantaged more in eking out their livelihood from farming.

Unless pro-poor policies are implemented women farmers and small farmers will not be able to make the best out of this biofuel farming opportunities. Any large scale production means pressure on existing resources. Lands in developing countries are already fragmented and largescale production requires vast stretch of lands and this would mean small farmers will have to sell off their lands or find some other arrangements to have a pie of the opportunity.

Though women have legal rights over lands but the complexity of marital laws, socio-economic conditions weaken women’s ownership of lands. How much she will benefit from biofuel farming that time can only say. But analysts fear that women are likely to experience more marginalization in biofuel production.

Due to social inequalities women are already less exposed to training and information related to biofuel farming opportunities. Serious efforts by the government can make the scene favourable for women.