10.7 Agricultural Bioeconomy
In the twenty-first century, human kind is faced with several challenges such as
energy instability and environmental pollution (Valenti et al. 2020). The most crucial
environmental problem is related to greenhouses gases (GHG) caused by the continuous rising combustion of fossil fuels (Hosseini et al. 2013). Some countries seem to
agree to reduce GHG emissions from fossil fuels by moving to renewable energy
sources (Pätäri et al. 2016), produce cost-effective energy, and by increasing
bioenergy efficiency (Wu et al. 1999; Garnier 2014; Ebner et al. 2015). The
agreement is seen from the increasing number of countries that have decided to
develop strategies and policies on “bioeconomy.” These countries include Spain
(Lainez et al. 2018), Ghana (Poku et al. 2018), Brazil (Scheiterle et al. 2018), and
Poland (Woźniak and Twardowski 2018).
Aside from the urgency of the need for renewable energy sources, the presence of
bioeconomy is also driven by rapid progress in life sciences and technologies which
results in new opportunities in using biotechnological processes in industries and
creating novel bio-based products (Global Bioeconomy Summit 2015; Woźniak and
Twardowski 2018). The bioeconomy can be one of the fastest-growing sectors
caused by the challenges faced by the world economy, such as managing natural
resources sustainably and ensuring food security (European Commission 2012;
Woźniak and Twardowski 2018).
Bioeconomy is a concept that has been around for the past 10 years (Egea et al.
2018) but with unclear definitions (Woźniak and Twardowski 2018). McCormick
and Kautto (2013) defined bioeconomy as an economy in which the materials,
chemicals, and energy used are derived from renewable biological resources. In
the future, bioeconomy as sustainable economic system and lifestyle transformation
is needed to face social challenges, such as increasing population, climate change,
adverse effects of the human activities, uncertainties about food security, and
sustainability issues, i.e., depending on the secure, sustainable, and safe availability
of food, energy, water, and industrial raw materials (Egea et al. 2018; von Braun
2018).
In the European Union, bioeconomy comes as a spinoff of the sciences, especially
biotechnology that aims to transfer research results efficiently into society and to the
market as products and services (Egea et al. 2018). Bioeconomy provides goods and
services to all economic sectors (Global Bioeconomy Summit 2015). Through
products and services obtained by making efficient and sustainable use of biological
resources, the bioeconomy can generate economic value (Lainez et al. 2018).
Bioeconomy or bio-based economy encompasses the sustainable production of
renewable biological resources or biomass and conversion of the biomass and waste
streams into several bio-products, ranging from a feed, food, health, fiber, and
industrial products to high value-added products and bioenergy (Egea et al. 2018;
European Commission 2012). Through bioeconomics, biomass resources are produced and converted into new economically competitive products, sustainable, and
eco-efficient (Global Bioeconomy Summit 2015; OECD 2008). Biomass is an
228
C. Agus et al.
In the twenty-first century, human kind is faced with several challenges such as
energy instability and environmental pollution (Valenti et al. 2020). The most crucial
environmental problem is related to greenhouses gases (GHG) caused by the continuous rising combustion of fossil fuels (Hosseini et al. 2013). Some countries seem to
agree to reduce GHG emissions from fossil fuels by moving to renewable energy
sources (Pätäri et al. 2016), produce cost-effective energy, and by increasing
bioenergy efficiency (Wu et al. 1999; Garnier 2014; Ebner et al. 2015). The
agreement is seen from the increasing number of countries that have decided to
develop strategies and policies on “bioeconomy.” These countries include Spain
(Lainez et al. 2018), Ghana (Poku et al. 2018), Brazil (Scheiterle et al. 2018), and
Poland (Woźniak and Twardowski 2018).
Aside from the urgency of the need for renewable energy sources, the presence of
bioeconomy is also driven by rapid progress in life sciences and technologies which
results in new opportunities in using biotechnological processes in industries and
creating novel bio-based products (Global Bioeconomy Summit 2015; Woźniak and
Twardowski 2018). The bioeconomy can be one of the fastest-growing sectors
caused by the challenges faced by the world economy, such as managing natural
resources sustainably and ensuring food security (European Commission 2012;
Woźniak and Twardowski 2018).
Bioeconomy is a concept that has been around for the past 10 years (Egea et al.
2018) but with unclear definitions (Woźniak and Twardowski 2018). McCormick
and Kautto (2013) defined bioeconomy as an economy in which the materials,
chemicals, and energy used are derived from renewable biological resources. In
the future, bioeconomy as sustainable economic system and lifestyle transformation
is needed to face social challenges, such as increasing population, climate change,
adverse effects of the human activities, uncertainties about food security, and
sustainability issues, i.e., depending on the secure, sustainable, and safe availability
of food, energy, water, and industrial raw materials (Egea et al. 2018; von Braun
2018).
In the European Union, bioeconomy comes as a spinoff of the sciences, especially
biotechnology that aims to transfer research results efficiently into society and to the
market as products and services (Egea et al. 2018). Bioeconomy provides goods and
services to all economic sectors (Global Bioeconomy Summit 2015). Through
products and services obtained by making efficient and sustainable use of biological
resources, the bioeconomy can generate economic value (Lainez et al. 2018).
Bioeconomy or bio-based economy encompasses the sustainable production of
renewable biological resources or biomass and conversion of the biomass and waste
streams into several bio-products, ranging from a feed, food, health, fiber, and
industrial products to high value-added products and bioenergy (Egea et al. 2018;
European Commission 2012). Through bioeconomics, biomass resources are produced and converted into new economically competitive products, sustainable, and
eco-efficient (Global Bioeconomy Summit 2015; OECD 2008). Biomass is an
228
C. Agus et al.