Bioeconomy is the economy associated with all major sectors producing biomass, i.e., agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and the sectors processing it, such as the food industry and the bio-based industry, which is consisting of the wood processing and the pulp and paper industry and biorefinieries, converting non-food biomass and biowaste into novel or innovative products for the modern pharma, chemical, cosmetic, textile and energy industry. Some of the activities of the marine and maritime sectors are also contributing to Bioeconomy.
All together such sectors are guaranteeing to Italy a turnover of about € 330 Billion per year and 2 Million of jobs; thanks to these performances, Italian Bioeconomy is the third one in Europe, after those of Germany and France.
However, Italy is the second European Country as presence in the research and innovation projects funded in the frame of Horizon 2020 (Societal Challenge 2) and the Public Private Partnership Biobased Industry (BBI JU). It is also the first in terms of richness of biodiversity and novel high quality biobased products introduced into the market, and thus it can do more…but this asks for more coordination among Ministries, among Ministers and Regions and between the public and private actors active in the different internal sectors of Bioeconomy.
To such aims, the Italian Presidency of Council of Ministers of the Country launched in 2016 a national Strategy on Bioeconomy, developed in close cooperation with the Ministry for Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Tourism; the Ministry Education, University and Research; the Ministry for Economic Development; and the Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea along with the Committee of the 20 Italian Regions, the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion and the Italian Technology Clusters on Green Chemistry and Agrifood. The Current Presidency of Council of Ministers further endorsed the Bioeconomy strategy published in 2017, asking for its update, also for having it aligned with the new European Bioeconomy strategy and the priorities of the coming Horizon Europe, and launching a tailored Bioeconomy national task force in the frame of the National Committee for the Biosafety, Biotechnology and Life Sciences of the Presidency of council of Ministers, with the mandate to facilitate the adoption of the strategy and the effective implementation of Bioeconomy in the whole Country.
The updated strategy on Bioeconomy and the road map of the National Task Force for Bioeconomy will be presented during the High Level Event scheduled for May 14, 2019 at the Presidency of Council of Ministers (Room Sala Polifunzionale). All documents presented during the event and produced by the National Task Force on Bioeconomy will be made available on this web site.