Non-food Crops to Industry Schemes for a European Bio-based Industry and Sustainable Agriculture

This paper is a concise report of optimum choices of crops representative for the EU27 agriculture to supply the oil, fiber and other specialty products markets, in the light of crop performances, biotechnology options, economic, socio­economic and environmentally sustainable options, and state of the non­food markets in the EU27. The cultivation of conventional food crops for non­food uses is characterised by mature commercial yields, and well understood crop management and logistics therefore present lower risks for the farmers to grow and the industries to use. Most of the crops selected for the several product streams are used also for the food market. In such cases, breeding efforts have been initiated and new varieties are being produced with improved traits for the several industrial products but low food value.In the next decades, by 2020 and 2030, it is expected that new and tailored crop solutions which could provide consistent feedstock supply in terms of quantity and quality at competitive prices will be more dominant.
Proceedings of the 21st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 3-7 June 2013, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 1779-1783