A/HRC/9/23 page 42 evolution. And even if the country as a whole stands to gain from developing the production of agrofuels, this should not be accepted as a justification if the situation of the most food insecure in the country worsens: indigenous peoples, smallholders and landless labourers are at particular risk, since these are the categories whose situation may worsen as a result of the change of land-uses for the production of feedstock for fuels. 8. None of the above is to say that the production of fuel from crops should be condemned per se. In fact, criteria could be developed which, agreed to by international consensus, could provide guidance to States about the development of agrofuels on their territory and about the conditions they could impose on the import of feedstock for agrofuels from abroad. It is in the nature of such criteria that different crops would be evaluated differently. For instance, while the production of ethanol from maize has a clearly demonstrated negative impact on food security, plantation production of sugarcane for ethanol or the cultivation of jatropha on depleted or dry land not suitable for the production of food crops may lead to increased welfare and reduced poverty, due to income-earning opportunities, with positive implications for food security.78 Similarly, the imposition of such criteria could encourage practices, in particular modes of production, which contribute most to the reduction of poverty in the source countries, and to improving overall food security. Indeed, although in most cases the production of feedstock for fuel is more competitive if it relies on economies of scale related to largescale industrial production, due to the high investment cost related to processing, other forms of production may be encouraged, such as forms of contract farming in which “the processor purchases the harvests of independent (smallholder) farmers under terms agreed to in advance through contracts”; and smallholders could be assisted in “building cooperatives, marketing associations, partnerships and joint ventures, and coordinating their supply into larger production facilities will benefit smallholder participation in biofuel markets just as it holds potential for other agricultural markets”.79 3. The impact of international trade in agrofuels: shaping development through export crops 9. The potential impact of the development of agrofuels should also be considered at a third level. While the demand for agrofuels is highest in the industrialized countries, particularly the U.S. and the EU, these countries do not have enough agricultural lands suitable to grow energy crops. In contrast to what is the case in developed countries, large portions of land remain unused or are not under intensive use in developing countries. Developing countries also have a comparative advantage for the production of agrofuels through their lower wages and labour standards. In addition, while the most energy-efficient agrofuel feedstock are sugarcane and (to a lesser extent) palm oil, these crops are best grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates. 78 C. Arndt and others, Biofuels, Poverty and Growth: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis of Mozambique, IFPRI, 2008. 79 FAO, Bioenergy, food security and sustainability, cited above, para. 25.