Kontext

Primary production in agriculture and forestry is a vital component of the European circular bioeconomy. Despite the significance of primary producers, their involvement in bioeconomy is limited, and related benefits are not fairly distributed along the value chain. Recognising this disparity and the pivotal role of primary producers, the EU-funded C4B project will investigate current bio-based value chains in forestry and agriculture with the aim of formulating innovative and sustainable business models. These models will balance the share of power and profit across novel circular bio-based value chains and enhance the cooperation among primary producers and other key actors in the sector. Ultimately, C4B plans to demonstrate the wide applicability of these models and stimulate their uptake through third-party funding.

Objectives

Primary production in agriculture and forestry represents an essential part of the European circular bioeconomy. However, the involvement of primary producers in circular bio-based economy is still limited, and the benefits are in most cases not fairly distributed along the value chain, to the disadvantage of primary producers. Fair and sustainable business models that create opportunities for rural entrepreneurship and develop new forms of successful rural business are therefore needed.
The purpose of C4B is to accelerate the development of rural communities and their economic viability by developing new fair and sustainable business models for different agricultural and forestry value chains. C4B business models will be designed to balance the share of power and profits across novel bio-based value chains and to enhance the cooperation among farmers, foresters and industry. This project will advance the understanding of bio-based value chains by carrying out a holistic analysis of different case studies in EU that considers technology, business environment, primary producers’ behaviour, contractual agreements and ownership, and sustainability.
By providing financial support to third parties via Open Call, C4B will demonstrate the applicability, scalability and replicability of the new business models in different business settings and geographical areas, eventually stimulating the uptake of the new business models.
Joining forces with complementary and trans-disciplinary stakeholders from agriculture, forestry and industrial sector, the C4B consortium will define key R&I priorities to be implemented by means of the coming EU funding programmes to support the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, as well policy recommendations to advise Member States for implementing realistic and effective national CAP Strategic Plans that entail bioeconomy interventions.

Activities

1. To build a C4B Stakeholders’ Panel and implement the multi-actor approach (MAA) to co-create solutions and innovations, and to improve the capacity of businesses and individuals for implementing bioeconomy measures, empowering the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovations Systems (AKISs) in Europe.
2. To advance the understanding of bio-based value chains by carrying out a holistic analysis that considers multiple aspects such as technological factors, business models and business environment, primary producers’ behaviour, contractual agreements and ownership, fairness and power balance, and sustainability.
3. To develop, simulate and promote new fair, scalable and replicable business models for different primary production sectors that support the vibrancy and economic viability of rural communities.
4. To develop indicators to evaluate the impact for farmers, foresters and rural actors, and to assess the sustainability benefits of the innovative business models.
5. To demonstrate the scalability and replicability of the C4B fair and sustainable business models in different business settings and geographical areas, eventually stimulating the uptake of the results developed in the project.
6. To promote bioeconomy-related interventions in the new common agriculture policy (CAP).
7. To ensure wide visibility of C4B, increase the awareness on the of bioeconomy-related interventions, stimulate the replication of the new fair and sustainable business, and foster the multiplication of their economic, social and environmental benefits throughout Europe.