Participants were first inspired by an overview of Portuguese bioeconomy potential in terms of high value available feedstock (from citrus fruits to grapes, from olives to grassland and straw) and from the good practices of Lipor, which is collecting and separating municipal (including canteens and flowers from cemeteries!), agricultural and fruit waste to develop an organic soil improver called Nutrimais. That has nothing to envy about once compared to its competitors, on the contrary, it boasts values above the norm!
After this first inspiring section, participants have been asked to give their contributions and interact with the organisers in order to find feasible solutions, or existing examples, of agricultural/ forestry biomass integration in local sustainable value chains.
The answer came from the project Life Lowcarbon Feed: the project works on the re-use of pruning waste from oranges and rice, to create a feedstuff for ruminants that will reduce CO2 from two direct and indirect streams: 1) Indirect CO2 saving from less transportation and no dismantling (by burning) of priming waste 2) The final product (the feedstuff) will directly affect CO2 emissions as ruminants will produce less CO2 by its digestion.
It was clarified to us that the main component of this product is the organge pruming waste and for this reason, they are operating in Spain and we see no obstacle in operating in Portugal due to the feedstock presence and Mediterranean climate.
The discussion will be continued between Biobriges, Life Lowcarbon Feed and Lipor to make this application a reality and create a cross-sector interconnection in Portugal!