FAO Members endorsed Bioeconomy for Sustainable Food and Agriculture as one of 20 programme priority areas (PPAs) in FAO’s Strategic Framework for 2022–2031. The bioeconomy PPA is led by the FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, and co-led by the FAO Agrifood Economics Division. FAO’s approach to bioeconomy has a special focus on Sustainable Development Goal 12 (responsible consumption and production), in particular on achieving more sustainable natural resource management, less pollution and less waste. It also aims to promote bioeconomy innovations to support food security, rural livelihoods, Indigenous rights, gender and youth empowerment, climate action, and biodiversity and ecosystem restoration.

The Abidjan metropolitan area has over 6 million inhabitants and its urban population is growing by more than +3% every year. Access to employment, waste management and the sustainability of its food system are some of the many challenges associated with this very strong growth. As part of its circular economy strategy, the Autonomous District of Abidjan intends to implement the FAO's Green Cities Initiative within its territory, and has therefore requested technical assistance from the FAO. The "Circular Bioeconomy in Abidjan: from food waste to fork" (BioDAF) project is a concrete response to these challenges. It involves setting up a Farm School for the production and rearing of Black Soldier Fly larvae in Abidjan. In addition to producing agricultural inputs (dried larvae and digestate) to meet the needs of urban and peri-urban agriculture, the project aims to train around twenty people in Black Soldier Fly larvae rearing, who will in turn be able to develop grow-out units in their neighborhoods, based on the collection of bio-waste from Abidjan's markets. At the end of the project, successive cohorts will be able to come to the School Farm for training, advice and services that will enable this activity to be scaled up throughout the city, thereby contributing to the clean-up of the city through the valorization of bio-waste as part of a profitable activity useful to urban and peri-urban agriculture.

Este informe, se centra en cómo monitorear la sostenibilidad de la bioeconomía y describe cómo desarrollar dos sistemas de monitoreo; flujos cualitativos de biomasa de los principales productos básicos agrícolas y su sostenibilidad y circularidad, y el análisis de sectores de base biológica dentro de la economía en general. Ambos se complementan para obtener un análisis exhaustivo de la sostenibilidad de la bioeconomía y proporcionar una base sólida para evaluar la circularidad en los flujos de biomasa y el desarrollo intersectorial de la bioeconomía. This publication focuses on how to monitor the sustainability of the bioeconomy and describes how to develop two monitoring systems; qualitative biomass flows of major agricultural commodities and their sustainability and circularity, and analysis of bio-based sectors within the wider economy. Both complement each other to obtain a comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of the bioeconomy and to provide a solid basis for assessing the circularity in biomass flows and cross-sectoral development of the bioeconomy.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of key challenges and barriers to achieving greater youth inclusion in the bioeconomy. The analysis covers key factors (push/pull factors) that impact youth employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, such as education, vocational training, skills building, technology and business development. It also underscores the significance of considering economic development opportunities, rural–urban dynamics, and sustainable resource management when implementing policies. The study assesses the youth inclusiveness of current bioeconomy strategies and related policies and identifies six policy goals and how they need to be addressed for greater youth inclusion. Additionally, the report assesses specific youth employment opportunities and challenges in different sectors of the bioeconomy and provides a specific set of recommendations to support youth participation in the bioeconomy. Finally, the report provides generic recommendations for better youth inclusion and support in the bioeconomy. Overall, the report concludes that the bioeconomy offers considerable opportunities and is attractive to youth, but more needs to be done to support youth entrepreneurship and employment in the sector.

La naturaleza transversal de la bioeconomía ofrece una oportunidad única de abordar de manera integral retos sociales interconectados, tales como la seguridad alimentaria y la nutricional, la dependencia de los recursos fósiles, la escasez de los recursos naturales y el cambio climático, a la vez que se alcanza un desarrollo económico sostenible. La promoción de la bioeconomía ocupa un lugar destacado en la agenda política de más de cincuenta países, muchos de los cuales han creado estrategias y programas específicos destinados a la bioeconomía. La combinación de la bioeconomía con la digitalización a menudo se considera importante para impulsar la transformación de los sectores productivos. Este proyecto está dirigido principalmente a los encargados de la formulación de políticas de los países miembros de la FAO que buscan desarrollar la bioeconomía de manera sostenible.