For a poor country, how to balance the usage of corn or sugar cane for biomass energy and food?

Question

As the petrol's price keep on rising, the need of biomass energy is essential. And because of that, mass producing of corn and sugar cane is needed. Then, the export of corn and sugar cane as food sources will become less, and the food price will also rise. So how to balance between the usage of corn and sugar cane (or any other plant that can be used for biomass energy and food) as energy and food??? Opinion please

Answer 1

The "free market" way would be let the invisible hand of the market control it all.  . . Rich people buy the corn, etc. and use it for their trucks, and poor people starve.  

The socialist- protectionist way might establish trade barriers, incentives, taxes, etc. which might have the effect of lowering the price of food for the poor, or increasing prices for corporations who want to export the food.

Answer 2

What we need to strive for is optimizing the plants for both uses.  An example would be farming for corn.  Traditionally the planting is for either maximizing the yield of food grade cobs for human consumption, maximizing the yield of feed grade corn for livestock, and now maximizing production of biomass for fuel.

Perhaps a hybrid approach that would yield enough food grade cobs to feed the people along with enough biomass to fuel the process.  Hopefully with enough left over from each to market.