Then and Now: 120 Bioeconomy Pioneers look at yesterday, today, inspirations and challenges

Dieter Oberlaender

Then:  Obligado, Itapa, Paraguay, together with the Universidad Catolic de Paraguay and the University of Hohenheim in Germany, concentrating on the domestication of the Latin American palm Acrocomia aculeata.

Now: Since 2007 we executed a lot of studies, specialy breaking the intensive dormancy of the seed of this palm, which germinats naturaly in between 12 and 60 month. The intention was to offer a safe scientific and practical instruction of how to produce this valuable raw material out of which you can produce food, feed, energy (fuel) and raw meterial for the cosmetic and chemical industry”

Together with the emtioned univerities we conducted a lot of scientific investigations and practical samples. The result is the most advanced know how to select, germinate, plant, harvest and process the Acrocomia palm/fruit. The Acrocomia palm achives three requirements of the bioeconomy: economic, environment and social. We atarted most recently with a project with peasants in the south east of Paraguay, (San Pedro del Parana) where 250 peasant plant one hectar of this palm each and built a factory, to produce the mentioned raw materials.”

Inspirations:  “Where does all the raw material for the bioeconomy come from? We try to be part of the answer. This still not well known palm – properly planted – could fulfill the mentioned requirements, to reach a very good rentability, to help the environment and to improve the living conditions of peasants.

We belief that with the domestication of this Latin American palm we can realy contribute a lot to the bioeconomy, storing CO2 in the forestation and  producing all the mentioned raw material in the tropics  a n d  sub tropics.” “We all know, that we have to change a lot to save a proper life on the planet. Whoever has a chance to do something to improve the conditions to reach this, should seize this posibilities. Thats what we want to do.”