When we talk about the Bioeconomy, we are referring to an economy capable of using natural wealth in a sustainable way and generating the conservation of biomes, as well as promoting the well-being of local populations through the generation of employment and income. From this perspective, it’s not just industries and businesses, but communities – indigenous, quilombolas, family farmers, among others – that generate revenue, work and income, and dedicate themselves to the sustainable use of the land and natural resources in their territories. Brazil has great potential for the development of the bioeconomy in the Amazon, not only because of the region’s natural wealth, but also because of the products and scientific research that are already being produced in the territory and which can be leveraged with the right impetus and strategic support.

In the Bioeconomy Mission, WTT opens the IOC’s activities by looking at bioplastic technology. Having seen the leading role that plastic plays in the industrial hub of the Polo Industrial de Manaus region, the potential that the development of a new sustainable material would have to enter this productive dynamic as an innovative solution to various socio-environmental problems was highlighted. Focusing on polypropylene, the bioplastic worked on within the Bioeconomy Mission comes from Brazil nut waste.

In order to orchestrate the development of this new technology, WTT has been cooperating with organizations such as IDESAM, the State University of Amazonas in collaboration with guest researchers, and Tutiplast. They work together in the different stages of the project, from field work with communities, to research and development of the material, to liaising with industry to produce the bioplastic on a large scale. The Bioeconomy Mission has already received funding from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and currently has an arrangement with finacial contributions from PPBio Program and the FJBSA.

Focusing efforts on innovations in the field of family agriculture is central to protecting biodiversity, guaranteeing food security, stimulating income generation, fighting poverty and strengthening adaptation and mitigation of the effects of the climate crisis. If, on the one hand, there are mature and dynamic innovation ecosystems supporting agricultural production, there is a democratic innovation deficit in the field of family farming that highlights both the need to support these practices and the development opportunity that this gap offers.

Within the framework of the Family Farming Mission, WTT has been articulating efforts and scientific teams in the search for and consolidation of solutions that contribute to fairer, more sustainable and equal agricultural production. Agroecologies of Brazil, for example, consists of detailed studies and analyses of Brazilian territories with high innovation potential for agroecological transition and identifies scientific research opportunities for innovative solutions aimed at agroecology. Science, Technology and Innovation in the Brazilian Semi-Arid, on the other hand, is a collaborative science process orchestrated by WTT that has resulted in a boost for technologies such as water reuse technologies in the semi-arid region and fruit coating, which avoids post-harvest losses and food transportation and refrigeration problems.

The mappings, diagnoses and teams guided by this mission involve the participation of various actors, including farming families, small producers, local leaders and institutions such as INSA, ASA, PATAC, as well as universities and technology parks in the scientific teams. The methodology of these processes always values the dialog between popular and academic perspectives in order to foster a diverse and collective construction of knowledge.