Agrarian pruning and plantation removal (APPR) is a common residue from pomo-technical maintenance of orchards, vineyards, and olive groves, frequently overlooked by the energy sector. This paper sheds new light on the socio-economic role of APPR as solid biofuel. The paper suggests business models that could both alleviate energy poverty in rural areas and increase the competitiveness of perennial crop (fruits, olives, vine) production. The effects of mobilizing APPR potential via business models are estimated at the micro (households’ income) and macro (number of households affected, size of the investment, tax effect, CO2eq savings) levels in the Croatian setting. Contrary to classical energy planning, the paper provides an approach that fosters local use of bioenergy by linking rural development with renewable energy end-use. The approach linked pruning energy potential with 47% of Croatian rural households which allows creating an evidence-based policy for rural development utilizing APPR as a sustainable solid biofuel. The most attractive business model for Croatian rural areas is utilization of APPR as a solid biofuel. It could be used as an energy poverty alleviation measure, allowing savings per heating season equivalent to 5%–11% of the average disposable income per household. Net APPR influence at VAT tax is estimated at 5.5 million euro·y−1. The paper proves that using average values for APPR in energy planning could be misleading.
Bioekonomija jedna je od politika Europske unije koja ima za cilj osnažiti gospodarstva kroz veću učinkovitost korištenja biomase putem brojnih inovacija te olakšati prijelaz na zelene politike kroz dobavu obnovljivog ugljika u društvo. Poljoprivreda kao primarni proizvodni sektor ima važnu ulogu u razvoju kružne i održive bioekonomije. Istraživanje je provedeno na poljoprivrednim proizvođačima, članovima Hrvatske poljoprivredne komore u 6 fokus grupa, Delfi metodom. Prosječno je sudjelovalo 10 ispitanika po fokus grupi. Cilj ispitivanja je ustanoviti prepreke i sklonost prema inovacijama u okviru bioekonomije. Rezultati su pokazali potrebu za prilagođavanjem mjera te usuglašavanjem poljoprivrednih politika u skladu s potrebama prakse, većim udruživanjem proizvođača, logističkom infrastrukturom, prijenosom informacija i znanja kako bi poljoprivredni proizvođači prepoznali prilike za rast koje nudi kružna i održiva bioekonomija.
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