Publication: Bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published a Position Paper entitled Bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture: a global opportunity last year (2024). The paper had been prepared to inform the discussions on bioeconomy and focuses specifically on how bioeconomy can ensure food security and nutrition and, at the same time, on the need to transform agrifood systems to advance the sustainable development of the bioeconomy.

The bioeconomy approach can support the transformation of agrifood systems so that they become more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, the paper states. Sustainability and the trade-offs related to the production and utilisation of biological resources are the biggest challenge the development of the bioeconomy faces, the paper says. Moreover, it states that global coordination and cooperation are an integral part of sustainable bioeconomy development.

The paper provides a set of eight recommendations to guide global discussions on the bioeconomy:

1. Achieve food security and nutrition through the transformation of agrifood systems, as a primary principle for developing the bioeconomy agenda.
2. Leverage the potential of the bioeconomy to enable holistic carbon management, alleviate pressure on natural resources and address climate change.
3. Scale up investments in science, technology, and innovation for agrifood systems in the bioeconomy.
4. Develop holistic, practical and transparent bioeconomy policies, strategies and plans.
5. Promote the bioeconomy for rural-urban transformation.
6. Harness the potential of the bioeconomy for inclusive development and a just transition.
7. Establish globally accepted criteria for sustainable bioeconomy.
8. Foster global cooperation for sustainable bioeconomy.

The political commitment to bioeconomy and the increasing interest in its expansion is reflected in the growing number of dedicated bioeconomy strategies world-wide. As of July 2024, FAO has identified 23 countries with dedicated bioeconomy strategies: Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Namibia, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States of America. Additionally, there are three multi-country strategies for the Eastern Africa Community, the European Union and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Download the Position Paper Bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture: a global opportunity on the FAO website https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/08505fa1-4cca-49ec-8019-3d320479cfb5