Bioeconomy Column Leading the agricultural bioeconomy By Murray McLaughlin here is an increasing demand global-ly for bioproducts from biomass. At Biomass Quality Network Canada (BQNC) we have been focused on research and development to establish a certification program for quality ag-biomass and hope to have that in place over the next three years, assuming appropriate funding. Canada is a country rich with innova-tion in the agricultural bioeconomy, but poor in implementation and commercial-ization to the point where we have fallen behind other countries. Canada has sus-tainably produced biomass in agriculture and forestry, but needs the sector support to get it commercially established into a global leadership industry position. Science and technology play important roles in maximizing the economic contri-bution of biomass, and Canada has excel-lence in this area within our universities and colleges to keep us on the leading edge of bioeconomy development. Can-ada has the development technology to build a solid bioeconomy industry and the expertise to build international partner-ships as we create the export part of the industry and business attraction. In a workshop held in Ottawa on bio-hubs in 2020, participants from all regions had robust discussions on the opportunities and challenges of bio-hubs across Canada. Each region had distinct characteristics, but all areas of the country faced some of the same opportunities and challenges. The bio-hub report went on to look at a SWOT (strengths, weakness-es, opportunities, and threats) process for Canadian bio-hubs. The strengths were: quality and quantity of available Governments, industry and consumers must align on Canadian leadership in the agricultural bioeconomy T biomass; sustainable management prac-tices; established supply chains and infra-structure; a reputation of being environ-mentally responsible. Of course, there is a flip side: the weak -nesses. The major weakness identified is capital to support the establishment, and government structure with diverging priori-ties making change adaptation difficult. In discussions around possible actions, many groups identified that one of the highest priorities for promoting bio-hubs in Canada would be to incentivize the use of bioproducts and biofuels, therefore in-creasing demands from consumers. Oth-ers focused on financial structures and another on regulation that prioritize pro-curement of biobased products. Almost all groups identified the need for co-op -eration and collaboration among partners, including all levels of government, to en-sure success of bioeconomy clusters. One of the key areas needed to build the future of biomass in Canada is a solid long-term national bioeconomy strategy supported by industry and governments, so we all go in the same direction – build -ing the Canadian bioeconomy. Canada’s agriculture, food and forestry industries are a well-kept secret – which is unfortunate and needs to change. A few provinces are developing their own strat-egies and at one time industry proposed the “biodesign strategy,” but it has been slow to be adapted. We need buy-in by all players across the country – governments, industries, and all Canadians – to take a leadership role in building the future for agriculture and the forestry bioeconomy. Canada should be a global leader based on the many resources Canada has. In agriculture and forestry, the biomass left in the fields, or straw, corn stover and other ag biomass that can be removed (50 per cent removal would produce close to 100 million tonnes a year that could be used to develop bioproducts). Yes, there is a cost to create new biomass opportu-nities, to create jobs today and for future generations. For building Canada into a global leadership player in the bioecono-my we need to create a national strategy acceptable to all players in Canada. One challenge is educating Canadi-ans about what biomass is. I hear the term waste often and quality biomass is far from waste. A farmer friend of mine reminded me once that there is no such thing as waste, just “underutilized re-sources,” which is exactly what forestry and agricultural biomass is – a resource – something that has real value. Around the world the bioeconomy is being looked at as an essential part of the future in most countries. Canada is a large country from a land mass perspective and could and should be a leader in the use of biomass to bioproducts from forestry and agricultural biomass. Let’s create the partnerships required to overcome the challenges and create the industries our biomass can create, starting with a national bioeconomy strategy sup-ported by all. • Murray McLaughlin, chair of Biomass Quality Network Canada, is the former executive director of Bioindustrial Inno-vation Canada and Sustainable Chemistry Alliance. SPRING 2023 8 Canadian BIOMASS
Canadian Biomass Spring 2023: Page 8
