THEItalian agriculture is increasingly oriented towards bioeconomics. A walk into progress with investments in structures, in particular for the construction of new plants. 2022 is going to close as a very heavy year for the use of fertilizers. The consequences of the war in Ukraine have made themselves felt throughout the agricultural supply chain with the cut of a third of purchases. This is one of the main reasons why companies are calling for a rapid transition to the commercialization and use of biomaterials. They need to resume production cycles in a sustainable way to do well on the markets. One way out is the proposal of the Italian Biogas Consortium with the project "Farming for future. 10 actions to cultivate the future". This was discussed in Rimini during the Ecomondo Fair. Focusing more on anaerobic digestion was the central theme of the discussion between experts and representatives of the agricultural world.

The bioeconomy in the future of Made in Italy agri-food

Indeed, the large-scale development of anaerobic digestion is the solution for creating small biorefineries and obtaining products of interest for bioeconomics. Prospects are good because – as many companies in the Center and North already do – processes can be implemented to convert by-products, agricultural and livestock residues into chemical compounds useful in many industrial sectors, up to construction. The digestate limits the use of goods to be purchased as well as protecting agricultural soils and positively influencing the balance sheets of agricultural enterprises. David Bolzonella, professor at the University of Verona, says that “already today, anaerobic digesters are small biorefineries dedicated to the production of methane and digestate. In the future they will have to configure themselves as real factories of chemical products of biological origin“. In fact, the aim is to obtain carboxylic acids, polyesters and other compounds.

“For the CIB – he adds Lorella Rossi, responsible for the technical area - the margins for development of the farm as an integrated production pole in the context of the Italian bioeconomy are still wide”. The transition to circular economy microsystems in the countryside remains at the basis of the "Farming for Future" which throughout 2022 was presented in targeted meetings with farmers. These are 10 strategic actions, from the use of clean energy sources, to animal quality and welfare, to agroforestry, to increasing soil fertility. Alongside this strategy, there is still a need for public investment throughout the agro-food sector. The government through the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida for now he has limited himself to saying that our country is not competitive on quantity almost anywhere "but it is always on quality, an element that others are unlikely to be able to copy". And quality needs investment for bioagriculture.