Promising Opportunities for Circular Agro-Food Industries

April 09, 2019

Print This Article Share it With Friends

(BioRescue) Education, training and awareness raising were identified as key factors to unlock the potential of 62 million tonnes of agricultural residues available annually in Europe during a policy conference organised by eco-innovation expert group Greenovate! Europe, where innovative examples of circular economy in the agro-food sector were presented.

...

Whilst a traditional industry, the agro-food sector can benefit from opportunities arising from the development of circular business practices. In that sense, new business models are emerging across the world to address climate challenges and contribute to the revitalisation of rural areas.

These topics were discussed at the conference “Towards a circular agro-food industry” on 4 April 2019 in Brussels, which identified solutions to deploy circular agro-food systems across Europe. The conference, which was also the final event of the EU-funded BIOrescue project, brought together over 80 participants, including policy makers and industry players, as well as key representatives from research institutions.

...

Several innovative examples from the agro-food sector were featured, covering:

A novel biorefinery concept to transform used mushroom compost and other underutilised agricultural residues into bio-based products, developed within the BIOrescue project;
A Spanish cooperative Oleicola el Tejar, using olive pomace to produce local renewable energy;
A biomass boiler using miscanthus and flax waste installed by Stephan Henry, a rural entrepreneur based in Belgium.

...

The BIOrescue project presented and debated a set of policy recommendations towards the development of a circular economy in European agriculture.

Investment in research initiatives, and especially public-private partnerships such as BIOrescue, is still needed to help connect the agro-food sector with the potential offered by the bio-based industry.

In agro-food value chains, collaboration and training, as well as investments in infrastructures and logistics, will also offer strong incentives to the sector to close the loop towards more circular business practices. But for the circular economy to become a reality in the agro-food industry, a clear and cohesive policy framework with stronger integration of policy objectives across sectors, promoting a cascading use of biomass sources, will be key to create a level playing field for bio-based products, avoiding competition with bioenergy while considering their contribution to climate change mitigation.

...

Towards a circular agro-food industry