From waste to resource: possibilities for incorporating circular bioeconomy practices in selected value chains of Argentine provinces

BURASCHI, MÓNICA; AMATO, CELINA NOÉ; GONZALEZ, SOFIA DE LOS DOLORES; PERETTI, MARÍA FLORENCIA

Buenos Aires

Conferencia; 27th ICABR Conference; 2023

International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research

Circular bioeconomy focuses on the transition of value chains towards bioeconomy on the basis of waste recovery (Stegmann et al, 2020). Agriculture is one of the economic activities that generates the most waste, which leads to high rates of greenhouse gas emissions. However, these residues -outputs of the process- can be used as inputs to produce bioenergy, biofertilizers, biopesticides and biomaterials.This work summarizes the progress of a biannual research project under development with funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Argentine Nation that is carried out at the Faculty of Economics, National University of Cordoba. The project’s aim is to identify opportunities for waste recovery in selected agro-industrial value chains from different Argentine provinces that could contribute to a sustainable transition towards the bioeconomy. The line of research is aligned with the strategic and territorial agendas of Argentina’s National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation 2030 and the strategic line of productive transformation in the National Plan for Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change by 2030.The proposed methodology is the descriptive case study (Stake, 2005; Yin, 1989) following the stages of the Global Value Chains approach (Fernández Stark & ​​Gereffi, 2011, 2019; Kaplinsky & Morris, 2001). Possible uses for waste will be analyzed taking into account the bioeconomic nodes involved (Bisang and Regúnaga, 2022) and bio-based value networks (Scheiterle et al, 2018) will be drafted to summarize material flows. Fieldwork will be based on documentary sources of information and semi-structured interviews with key actors in the productive sector and the local public sector during the first semester of 2023. Three value chains were selected at first stage: 1) jojoba crop in the Province of La Rioja, which is marketed in the form of oil, seeds, wax and flour, and has potential for biofuel production; 2) Andean nutraceutical crops (yacon, amaranth, quinoa) in the Province of Salta, which have outstanding nutritional properties and constitute the main source of income for rural labor, and 3) corn-based bioethanol production in the Province of Cordoba, which is produced in large refineries and whose by-products have multiple uses in the food and fodder industry.