Abstract: Despite the existence of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the incomes of primary food producers in many EU countries, including Slovakia, remain below the levels of other sectors in the national economy. The bio-based economy, which relies on natural materials and resources, is gaining increasing support across Europe. It is opening new opportunities to boost the incomes of agricultural primary producers, enhance their competitiveness, and reduce production surpluses. Currently, most biorefineries use first- and second-generation technologies to produce biofuels and chemicals from crops such as corn, wheat, sugar beet, and sugar cane, as well as from microorganisms derived from plant and animal waste. The production of biofuels, biochemicals, and biopharmaceuticals from agricultural biomass varies across EU countries. Since a thriving bioeconomy depends on productive farmers, this article aims to highlight the environmental and economic efficiency of biological raw materials and their role in diversifying farm incomes, using Slovakia’s agricultural sector as a case study.

Keywords: bioeconomy, biomass, biofuels, farm income, environmental and economic efficiency, diversification, profitability, competitiveness, renewable energy

Pages: 1635-1646