Christine Singer: “Tomorrow’s value creation begins in our fields”

New prospects for farms, innovative products made from home-grown raw materials and greater economic independence for Europe: these goals were at the heart of the Bioeconomy Forum 2026, held at Schloss Hohenkammer in Bavaria on 7 November 2026. The forum was hosted by the European Democratic Party (EDP) and EDP Vice-President Christine Singer, Member of the European Parliament, and brought together representatives of agriculture, science, business and politics.

Under the title “Bioeconomy made in Europe – from field to product”, the EDP event showed how European cooperation, regional economic cycles and sustainable innovation can work together.

“Tomorrow’s value creation begins in our fields. We have innovative farms, excellent research and companies that want to use home-grown raw materials. Now we must bring these partners together and create the conditions for this to become economically viable products,” said Christine Singer.

Gotthardt: Bavaria wants to drive the bioeconomy forward

Bavaria’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Tobias Gotthardt, described the bioeconomy as a key issue for the future. He said that Bavaria and its Ministry of Economic Affairs had invested heavily in the sector in recent years and intended to keep shaping its development. The aim is to unlock the potential of renewable raw materials and turn research results into commercial applications.

One example of this commitment is the BioCampus MultiPilot in Straubing, which the Free State of Bavaria is funding with €80 million. The multi-purpose demonstration plant is designed to ease the step from research to industrial application. Through its “BayBioökonomie-Scale-Up” funding programme, the ministry also supports investment in production facilities for the material use of renewable raw materials.

From hemp textiles to rubber from dandelions

The talks and the accompanying exhibition showed how broad the possibilities are: natural fibres for clothing and technical components, plant proteins for food, and natural rubber from dandelions. Using industrial hemp as an example, participants discussed how new regional value chains can be built, from cultivation through processing to the finished product.

Prof. Dr. Ute Weisz of the Technical University of Munich presented her research on plant proteins from hemp seeds. She focused on how these proteins can be extracted, concentrated and used in food production, and explained the potential of the protein-rich press cake left over from hemp oil production.

Ely Eibisch, Vice-President of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association (Bayerischer Bauernverband), spoke for the farming sector, setting out the opportunities of growing industrial hemp and the obstacles to building domestic value chains. The key factors are suitable harvesting and processing technology, reliable buyers and making economic use of the different parts of the plant.

Alexander Bachmann of TOPP Textil, based in Durach in the Allgäu, described how home-grown natural fibres are developed and processed. Concrete uses already exist in technical applications such as vehicle interiors. Wider industrial use, however, will require processing technologies to become more advanced and more cost-effective.

Franziska von Becker presented the efforts of clothing company MAC to use more home-grown natural fibres in its jeans. The aim is both to use fewer resources and to build more resilient supply chains. The challenge is that processing steps which have left Germany and Europe over recent decades must be rebuilt or linked up in new ways.

Christoph Roßner of Green Chance AG presented approaches to using as much of the hemp plant as possible. Besides fibres and building materials, these include biochar and possible technical applications. The goal is to connect farm production with innovative processing so that new economic opportunities emerge.

Moritz Wiest, founder of GOOD CROP, presented pre-cooked pulses and grains from regional farms for households and catering. His talk showed how convenient everyday food can open new markets for local producers, and what difficulties remain in regional sourcing, production capacity and public tenders.

Dr. Friedrich Eickmeyer of the plant-breeding company ESKUSA showed that the bioeconomy goes well beyond hemp. He reported on the development of natural rubber from dandelions and the company’s cooperation with Continental. His central message: a successful bioeconomy starts with plant breeding and cultivation, and farms’ production risk must be taken into account from the outset and fairly rewarded.

The competence network C.A.R.M.E.N. e. V. also contributed its expertise on renewable raw materials and their practical use. The talks underlined how important advice, knowledge transfer and networking are along the whole value chain.

New opportunities must pay off for farmers

For Christine Singer, what matters most is that farms benefit from this development. The discussion made clear that research and product development are not enough: the sector also needs suitable harvesting technology, processing capacity, reliable buyers and fair prices.

“We cannot expect our farmers to take up new ways of producing and carry the investment risks alone. If we want to use home-grown raw materials, we must also support building the technology and processing we need,” Singer said. Targeted support is needed above all in the start-up phase of new value chains, she added.

The whole plant and its different uses must be considered. At the same time, the contributions from science and practice showed that not every application has the same requirements for varieties, harvest time and processing. Economic viability therefore depends on close coordination between producers, researchers and companies.

Singer sees her own role as a political go-between and networker: “My job is to bring people together and to help shape, at European level, a framework that makes innovation possible. Good ideas need a path into practice.”

Regional value creation strengthens Europe’s independence

Singer stressed that the bioeconomy is about economic resilience as well as climate and resource protection. Home-grown raw materials and regional processing can reduce dependence on international supply chains and keep knowledge, jobs and value creation in Europe.

“Anyone who wants high environmental and production standards must also make sure that businesses can operate profitably under those conditions. And we must give regional products the value they deserve, in public procurement as much as in everyday shopping,” Singer said.

With the forum, the European Democratic Party created a platform where European politics and regional practice could meet. For EDP Vice-President Christine Singer, this is a central task: bringing people and businesses together across sectors and borders, and making concrete cooperation possible.

“‘From field to product’ must not remain a slogan. We want good ideas to become reliable partnerships, and home-grown raw materials to become new opportunities for our farmers and our economy,” Singer concluded.

All the photos of the forum are in the EDP album on Flickr.