Caribbean Agrifood Business Session n°11

The role of agrifood businesses in promoting circular economy: successes from entrepreneurs and SMEs

A circular economy is a system that aims to reduce waste and environmental impact by reusing, recycling, and regenerating resources and products. A circular economy can offer many benefits for the agri-food sector, such as improving resource efficiency, enhancing food security, and creating new business opportunities.

In the agricultural and agrifood sector, the transition to a circular economy model is crucial and entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are playing a significant role in driving this transformation.

The circular economy model has gained high-level political attention and support in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in recent years. Countries in the region have either implemented or are planning new circular economy policies, public initiatives and roadmaps.

Entrepreneurs and SMEs can play a key role in promoting a circular economy in the agri-food sector by developing innovative solutions that address the specific needs and problems of the industry. For example, some entrepreneurs and SMEs have successfully created circular business models that valorize food waste and by-products into new products or services, such as animal feed, bioenergy, bioplastics, or fertilizers. Others have developed circular technologies that improve the quality and shelf life of food products, such as smart packaging, sensors, or blockchain. Moreover, some entrepreneurs and SMEs have fostered circular practices that reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption, such as organic farming, local sourcing, or plant-based diets.

A successful transition towards the circular economy in the Caribbean region will depend on the invetsment in Research and Development, the policy and finacial incentives the private sector can get, and the policies in place to support a green transition. The transition will also require a widespread adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, such as smart packaging, sensors, blockchain, biotechnology, etc.