On February 27, ASEBIO and BIOVEGEN co-organized the event “Agri-food at the Center of the Bioeconomy”, held at the European Commission headquarters in Madrid, which brought together stakeholders involved in bioeconomy and agri-food (researchers, companies, civil society, and administration) to discuss the main challenges of bioeconomy and the necessary products (bioproducts), proposing possible solutions to these challenges.
The event, which gathered more than 90 representatives from the agri-food sector, was structured into 3 blocks (presentations, round table, and workshop) to promote intersectoral collaboration among attendees. BIOVEGEN made a presentation that included an explanation of the objectives and activities of the GOCITRUS Operational.
Agenda of the event:
10:00 a.m. Welcome and Introduction
- Francisco Fonseca Morillo, Director of the European Commission Headquarters in Spain
- Ion Arocena, General Director, AseBio
- Gonzaga Ruiz de Gauna, Coordinator, BIOVEGEN
10:10 a.m. Innovation and Development of Bioproducts in the Agri-food Sector
Moderated by: Beatriz Palomo. AseBio
10:10 a.m. New Bioproduct Production Platforms: BioFactory Plants.
- Diego Orzáez. Researcher, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plants (IBMCP)
10:25 h. Microalgae, innovative ingredients for food.
- Raschid Stoffel. Director of the Food and Beverages Area, AlgaEnergy
10:40 h. Current situation of agri-food packaging within the framework of the bioeconomy.
- Belén García Fernández. Director, Spanish Technological Platform for Packaging (PACKNET)
11:00 h. Round table: Consumers, scientists, businesses, communicators, and public administration in the bioeconomy
Moderated by: Gonzaga Ruiz de Gauna. BIOVEGEN
- Role of the Administration. Mª Teresa Ambrós Mendioroz. Deputy Director, General Subdirectorate for Innovation and Digitalization. MAPA.
- Role of the Consumer. Carmen Redondo Borge. Spanish Confederation of Consumer and User Cooperatives – HISPACOOP
- Role of the communicator/disseminator. María Iranzo. Scientific Blogger.
- Role of the company. Richard Borreani. Director of Agricultural Policies, Bayer Crop Science Iberia.
- Role of the scientist. Esther Esteban. Director, INIA.
- Role of the farmer. José Ramón Díaz. Technician, ASAJA.
12:00 h. Coffee Break
12:30 p.m. Mutual learning and lessons learned for the development of the bioeconomy.
- AseBio in the bioeconomy: European projects BIOVOICES and BIOBRIDGES. Beatriz Palomo. Project Manager, AseBio
- BIOVEGEN and its activities in bioeconomy. Gonzaga Ruiz de Gauna. Coordinator, BIOVEGEN
SOMBRADOBLE Workshop: Role Change
This workshop aims to create a conducive environment that fosters intersectoral collaboration, changing roles and addressing various challenges posed by bioeconomy, such as harmonization, labeling, costs and incentives, better information and dissemination among others.
2:00 p.m. Conclusions and closing