Source:“Industrial Biotechnology: Development and Adoption by the U.S. Chemical and Biofuel Industries,” The U.S. International Trade Commission
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Study: Local Agbio Sector Could Create 50,000 Jobs
Extensive acreage ripe for fruitful future
By Tom Wilemon
August 27, 2009
The fertile lands that surround Memphis could generate as much as $8 billion a year in the emerging bioeconomy as petroleum-based products are replaced with plant-based ones, according to a study released this week by the Memphis Bioworks Foundation.
The Regional Strategy for Biobased Products in the Mississippi Delta encompasses 36 million acres covering five states. It projects that the transformation to a bioeconomy could support more than 25,000 green jobs during the next decade and more than 50,000 jobs within the next 20 years.
GREEN GAINS: The Memphis Bioworks Foundation has released a regional strategy for building a bio-based economy. -- PHOTO COURTESY OF THOMPSON & BERRY PUBLIC RELATIONS
This is recognized as one of the most productive farmlands in the country, said Steve Bares, executive director of the Bioworks Foundation. When you see a map of the United States, this area is recognized as one of the top tier producers.Â
Agrarian roots
Bioworks went to the international Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, the same consulting company that devised the foundation's biomedical strategy, to come up with a plan for new agricultural development based on regional assets.
Bares said the plan does not impact the food and feed supply. Whereas corn-based ethanol products have been criticized for raising the cost of food, plants grown in the Mississippi Delta, such as cotton and trees, are used for other purposes.
Consequently, the land could be farmed with alternative plants and then converted into polymers for plastic products without inflating food prices.
Other possible uses of Delta crops include biofuels, lubricants, base materials for various products and briquettes that can be used alongside coal to produce electricity.
"At the end of the day, we think this is an opportunity to build on the past agricultural economy that we have and really lay down some plans for the future,"Â Bares said.
Forward-thinking
A few Mid-South companies are at the vanguard of the movement. PMC Biogenix Inc. is one example. Peter Nelson, AgBio co-coordinator for Memphis Bioworks, said the company transforms agricultural materials into cling wrap.
The infrastructure is already in place for others to follow, Bares said. Besides the millions of acres of farmland that surround Memphis, the city also offers brown fields, shuttered manufacturing sites that easily could be converted to process biobased materials, he said.
But first a network must be established between farmers and manufacturers.
"You have to connect the land through the supply chain into the manufacturing," Bares said.
CAPTAIN OF BIOINDUSTRY: Steven J. Bares, the executive director of the Bioworks Foundation, makes a point as he discusses opportunities for Memphis and surrounding areas. -- PHOTO BY TOM WILEMON
Farmers also have to be convinced to give alternative crops a try. Bioworks is doing this through the 25Farmer Network, a partnership with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, that matches farmers willing to try alternative crops with buyers.
"Each one of those we're developing a multi-year partnership with to build out the new supply chain versus trying to push something out there prematurely," Nelson said.
Tree farmers who grow crops for biobased uses could double their income stream by also selling carbon credits, said Aimee Christensen of Christensen Global Strategies.
Companies buy the credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange to offset the environmental damage they cause.
However, that's not the only incentive corporations have for embracing green initiatives.
Strong foundation
Corporate giants are beginning to look at replacing petroleum-based products with biobased products as a way to cut costs, Christensen said. An expert on green initiatives, she has worked for Google.org, World Bank, the International Centre for Trade & Sustainable Development in Geneva and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Christensen said she had also worked with Wal-Mart on its sustainability initiative. The company is studying its supply chain from meat and dairy to chemical sourcing, she said.
"Wal-Mart would be an ideal partner in this case because they are also looking at local sources,"Â she said.
But it will take more than a corporate giant to build a new bioeconomy, Bares said. The initiative will require work force and infrastructure development and entrepreneurship.
It will also require teamwork beyond state borders. Agencies from Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee helped fund the study.
"For Memphis, this study makes it clear that we have a dual role," Bares said. "One is to take advantage of our own under-utilized industrial capacity, our strong business infrastructure and our unique agricultural assets and to develop them. The second is to provide a regional approach that will build strong collaborations."
Copies of the study are available at www.agbioworks.com.
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