Management of Agricultural Waste Biomass: A case study of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organizations in southeast Spain

Policies and strategies that encourage the adoption of environmentally friendly practices in the agricultural sector also promote mechanisms that facilitate their implementation. One of them is the creation of Producer Organizations and the granting of subsidies to farmers. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the most relevant aspects of the management of Agricultural Waste Biomass (AWB) by Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organizations (FVPOs) in a province in southeastern Spain. For this purpose, a case study was carried out that included surveys of 14 FVPOs (38% of the total). A descriptive method and a multivariate statistical technique were used to characterise these organizations. The results show that most of the FVPOs implement more than one AWB reduction and/or valorization practice, mainly the use of biodegradable and/or compostable raffia. However, the findings of the cluster analysis show that there are differences in the degree of relevance that the FVPOs give to the reduction and/or valorization of AWB. This exploratory study provides novel and relevant information that contributes to the characterization of the FVPOs and improves the knowledge on their trend in the management of AWB. It also serves as a tool for governments to assess the environmental provisions included in the regulatory framework of FVPOs. From this it will be possible to identify improvement actions to promote AWB valorization practices in the fruit and vegetable sector under the circular economy and bioeconomy approaches.