African farmers risk being forced from their lands by investors or government projects as global demand for biofuel encourages changes in crop cultivation, a research from the UK University of Edinburgh said on Thursday.

The university said in a press release that it has found that livelihood may be put at risk if African farmland is turned over to growing crops for biofuel.

With growing pressure to find alternatives to oil, global biofuel production trebled between 2003 and 2007 and is forecast to double again by next year, the research said. In Africa, countries including Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have enacted pro-biofuel national strategies.

Organizations including the World Bank have also claimed that diverting land to produce biofuel has contributed to rising food prices, which have forced millions into poverty.

Dr Tom Molony, who contributed to the research, said that the allocation of land for biofuel production by government projects or wealthy investors could mean that the African rural poor would be forced off their land.

"The threat that increased biofuel production poses to food security is particularly profound for African countries where food is scarce already," he said.