Madrid 15 April 2019 – Recommendations and good practices come to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food hand in hand with the uP_running project

April

15

2019

Madrid 15 April 2019

Last 15th of April 2019, several members of CIRCE Foundation and ASAJAHU have met with Isabel Bombal, General Director of Rural Development, Innovation and Forestry Policy, Maite Ambros, General Subdirector of Innovation and Digitalization and Jose Manuel Jaquotot, General Subdirector of Forestry Policy, to discuss several topics related to the promotion of the use of Agricultural Pruning and Plantation Renewal (PARP) for energy.

uP_running project aims to unlock the high potential of wood obtained from PARP in Europe and promote sustainable energy use. An example of collaboration between the agricultural and biomass sectors is its consortium composed of 11 partners from 7 different countries, who, after more than 3 years dedicated to the analysis, study and development of several value chains within the scope of the bioeconomy, maintain that the wood of PARP is a renewable and relevant energy, but nowadays it is highly underutilized. The biomass produced from these “agro-residues” can be competitive in the current market and entails a series of intangible benefits, for the rural environment, the reduction of emissions or the reduction of fire risks.
At the same time, the uP_running project indicates the great effort required to start a new value chain based on this type of biomass, as well as the change in agronomic practices that are required. There are many business models and it is always key to select and develop it according to the conditions and peculiarities of each area, and thanks to the development of synergies with waste managers, forestry companies, service companies for parks and gardens, etc.

Finally, it’s been is concluded that the transfer of knowledge and the creation of new capacities for consultants are crucial in this transition stage.
In addition, the uP_running project recommends different actions to continue promoting this type of initiatives, including boosting the woody agricultural biomass in the Energy and Climate Plans; establish the use of this “agro-biomass” as a good practice in agriculture; encourage an alternative use to burning, giving advantages to those who apply this practice; To support associationism and cooperativism as a formula to reduce investment risks in new collection, treatment and recovery technologies.

After the meeting with the General Director, it was concluded that the importance, as well as the common interest, of promoting the use of agro-residues for energy generation and other purposes, it was agreed upon to hold a conference in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fishing for early May 2019.
In these conferences, it´s proposed to present the possible measures to generate a more adequate framework for the bioeconomy, the success cases that currently exist in Spain, as well as the new initiatives for the use of agro-residues as biomass.
Finally, the different financing mechanisms and tools that can support the development of initiatives related to the principles of the bioeconomy and the circular economy, such as those based on the energetic use of pruning wood and renewal of plantations, will be presented.

Madrid

15 April 2019 10:00