Case studies

Case study 1 – From farm to fork: an efficient food waste management cycle

An agropreneur has a vast amount of farming land where he/she produces several fruits such as apples and pears. The business started with the production and distribution of these fruits, as the agropreneur inherited the lands from his/her parents. For a while, the agropreneur followed this business strategy. A couple of years ago, he/she decided it was time to expand the business by following a new trend of establishing touristic activities on agricultural lands, associated with traditional agricultural business. Small wooden houses were built for visitors, who hoped to experience countryside activities such as apple/pear picking.

As soon as the agrotourism business kicked-off it was a huge success and allowed the agropreneur to have an alternative, and more regular, source of income, particularly since in latest years it was not always possible to predict the success of apple or pears production due to extreme weather conditions. After a while, the agropreneur realised that a lot of money was being invested in providing everyday meals to tourists and that a lot was being wasted, so perhaps an alternative solution that better managed food waste from tourism activities in the farm could be found. The agropreneur wanted his/her agrotourism to become increasingly known for its sustainable practices.

Guided by the principles of a circular economy model, the agropreneur decided that the solution was to start a small-scale vegetable farm, for which tourists would contribute as part of their countryside experience. The food produced in this part of the farming land would be included in the meals of tourists, combined with meat and fish bought from other local agropreneurs – a more local distribution channel. The food produced at the small-scale vegetable farm, together with the apples and pears from the traditional agrobusiness and the local producers’ meat and fish now fed satisfied tourists, that supported part of their meal production process.

Moreover, food leftovers would now go through a composting process, to provide nutrients for the soil of new apples and pears production and to generate heat in the winter – through biomass/biogas – in the wooden touristic accommodations. For this, the agropreneur invested in a composting/heating infrastructure and provided training and clear instructions to his/her employees on how to use the new infrastructure and process food waste in the farm. This zero-food waste strategy allowed the agropreneur to be almost self-sufficient in terms of food provisions for his/her visitors, buy more local products – decreasing his/her impact on carbon emissions of food distribution -, adopt a greener source of energy for touristic accommodation – decreasing his/her impact on carbon emissions of energy use –, and start a circular economy process that fully manages food waste.

Case study 2 – Re-discovering nature as a wine lover: promoting low-carbon activities

A local Government decides to promote more environmentally sustainable development practices, at several policy levels, in its region. This region is mainly rural, therefore most public funding would go to promote individual or integrated rural sustainable activities and strategies. To assess the state of sustainability at an environmental level and identify key issues and relevant actions, the local Government decided to conduct a public consultation with local key stakeholders, including agropreneurs, environmental associations, SMEs. Based on the public consultation, it became clear that the region’s preservation, conservation, and promotion of its natural landscape and biodiversity called for urgent action.

For years, intensive agricultural practices led to the degradation of the region’s natural landscape and resources (e.g., soil degradation, water shortages, deforestation). Adding to these environmental consequences was also the evident tourism decrease in the region, which had always been well known for its natural landscapes. Hence, the local Government decided to devise a strategy for the preservation of the region’s natural heritage, providing funding for local stakeholders to promote the region’s natural capital while implementing more sustainable agricultural practices and contributing to a low-carbon and circular economy.

A local agropreneur decided to apply for the funding provided by the local Government. He/she had a very successful agricultural business related with wine production and over the years has made several smart farming investments – e.g., cleaner mechanisation processes, use of solar panels – to turn his/her business more sustainable. To expand his/her business and, at the same time, contribute to the region’s natural heritage preservation and promotion, the agropreneur decided that the best way to apply the public funding was to adopt a set of low-carbon touristic activities in his/her vineyard that would expand the business while educating visitors for the environmental preservation of the region’s landscape.

Guided by the principles of a low-carbon economy, the agropreneur started providing foot tours to the vineyard and renting bicycles and small electric cars for visitors who wanted to get to know the entire estate or even the region, instead of using their own cars. For the bicycles and electric cars renting, the agropreneur engaged with other local businesses – e.g., restaurants, museums, other agrotourism businesses –, to provide an integrated touristic regional package that increased vineyard visitors’ willingness to replace their cars for low-carbon alternatives for the rest of their visit.

As part of their countryside experience, tourists could enjoy the lovely scenery of the vineyard, learn more about wine production, visit the wine cellars and do wine tasting in a single foot tour. Afterwards, they were encouraged to rent a bicycle or an electric car to continue sightseeing and could enjoy discounts in local restaurants or free local museum entries. With these additional touristic activities, the agropreneur was able to increase his/her income and provide low-carbon transport alternatives to those interested in getting in touch with wine production and enjoy the region’s natural landscape.

Case study 3 – a day in the life of a farmer: authentic touristic experiences for sustainable rural areas

A small agropreneur produces biological red fruits entirely for national and international distribution. For several years, the business was going well, however, in the last couple of years the small agropreneur faced production shortages, particularly due to extreme heath in his/her region cause by climate change. His/her red fruits crops reduced significantly, and, in some years, harvest was almost all compromised. In those difficult years, the small agropreneur was faced with the decision of introducing chemicals into his/her agricultural production, which meant he/she could no longer sell the red fruits with a biological label.

The small agropreneur started searching for solutions. He/she wanted to save the red fruits business, but it was almost becoming impossible to continue with not so much available income coming from their distribution. The small agropreneur searched for relevant international and European legislation that could help him/her benchmark alternative solutions, as well as adapt and enhance his/her business resilience to climate change.

He/she came across the concept of climate-smart agriculture and decided to adopt and implement changes and concrete actions, at three levels: (i) by opening his/her agricultural land to a touristic experience “a day in the life of a farmer”, that would provide an alternative and regular source of income (in which visitors would accompany the small agropreneur in a normal business day, monitoring the crops growth, harvesting the red fruits, understanding the logistical aspect behind the distribution process, ending with local gastronomy and natural sightseeing); (ii) by turning his/her red fruits production completely biological once again (with no more chemicals use) and bet on more local markets (that are usually more prone to small-scale production and mean less distribution costs for the agricultural producer); and (iii) by collaborating with a local agricultural university to identify a high-tech low-cost way to monitor crops conditions and foresee future problems (e.g., satellite images).