The circular bioeconomy (CBE) is attracting considerable interest as a way to stimulate economic growth within city regions and end dependency on non-renewable resources, with many initiatives focused on aspects of food systems. A recent City Region Food Systems (CRFS) Knowledge Exchange webinar brought together experts to discuss developments and ways to overcome barriers to scaling up and realising the full environmental, economic, and social benefits.  

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the CGIAR Initiative on Resilient Cities, and the RUAF Global Partnership on Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Food Systems co-organized thewebinaron 27 March 2024 – Overcoming barriers to building the circular bioeconomy. Actionable suggestions for cities to develop the sector and attract investment included supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through simplified procedures, creating a coordinated enabling policy environment, securing access to resources, and ensuring fair revenue distribution throughout the value chain. 

The scene was set by two introductory speakers, Silvia Alonso, Co-lead of the CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative, International Livestock Research Institute, and Guido Santini, Coordinator of the CRFS programme at FAO, who explained the importance of the CBE to the work of their respective initiatives. They expressed shared confidence in the potential for CBE approaches to stimulate economic growth and break urban cities' dependence on non-renewable resources. Four expert speakers then unpicked the regulatory, health and safety, logistical and investment-related factors that can stimulate or hamper innovation and expansion of the CBE in different country contexts. 

Susanne Bodach, Research Group Leader Integrated Circular Economy Transformations at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) presented findings of a study on the investment climate for circular bioeconomy in 15 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin-America. Bodach reported that the enabling environment for the circular bioeconomy is in different stages. “We see a focus on the regulatory and policy environment,” she said. “Some countries have specific circular economy frameworks but often activities and policies are not well coordinated.” Bodach added that policy frameworks need to promote and incentivise large investments for infrastructure and technology, from diverse sources, and that streamlined business procedures for setting up and running businesses are especially important to would-be investors.  

Bertha Darteh, a development consultant and policy advisor for the WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) sector in Ghana, delved further into the regulatory aspects. She advocated for a regulatory framework that is not overly burdensome to SMEs, and called for awareness creation and capacity building for public officers, policy makers, and private waste management companies.  

Dfiza Agbefu, Coordinator of the Circular Bioeconomy Hub at IWMI, expanded on the need for greater coordination in the CBE sector in Ghana. The CBE Hub functions as a multistakeholder platform to address a variety of barriers encountered by practitioners. With 16 co-owners to date, the CBE Innovation Hub is a ‘one-stop shop for training, advice, research and demonstration’ to address a variety of barriers encountered by practitioners. 

Meanwhile, in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, a public-private partnership (PPP) has been established to build a farm-school focusing on the specific conversion chain of bio-waste using the black soldier flies (BioDAF). Hérve Lévite, a member of the bioeconomy team at the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB) at FAO, explained that while the technical nature of the project makes it most suited to the private sector, public sector involvement has been indispensable for securing authorisations. The logistical challenges have included securing a suitable site, appropriate equipment, water and electricity, access to sufficient biowaste, transportation (especially in congested urban settings), and human resources, including suitability of tasks for female workers and the need for technical training. “The big lesson in terms of logistics is that you have to consider sharing revenues across the whole value chain, from the collection of waste to the farm itself, and of course to the transporters and users at the end,” he said.

City perspectives on the circular bioeconomy 

Representatives from Nairobi, Kenya, and Quezon City, The Philippines, discussed their cities’ commitments to the circular bioeconomy. The discussion, facilitated by Makiko Taguchi, Agricultural Officer at FAO, touched on the types of CBE initiatives in each context. Patrick Muiruri, Food Systems Officer at Nairobi City Council, gave details on fabrication of briquettes, soap, and oils out of by-products; Ian Agatep of the Climate Change Adaptation Division, Food Security & Biodiversity, Quezon City, on the other hand, talked about biodigesters established by the city to turn waste into energy. Both cities have initiatives to produce compost and soil conditioners and to improve waste management in markets. 

In terms of the policy frameworks, both city representatives emphasized the need for systemic support. Agatep highlighted that policies around food security, public procurement, and food labelling all contribute to stimulating behaviour change in Quezon City. Muiruri, meanwhile, underlined that support of the CBE forms part of the Nairobi City County Food Systems Strategy.  

The recording of the event is accessible here.