Biomass agriculture, aquaculture and forestry may hold great economic potential for many national economies particularly in tropical and subtropical regions (Fig. 2.1). Indeed, the development of biotechnological processes in developing areas where plant growth excels could well bring about a change in the balance of economic power.
It should be noted that the non-renewable energy and petrochemical feedstocks on which modern society is so dependent (oil, gas and coal) were derived from ancient types of biomass.