Sicilian project for reusing prickly pear waste finalist in Portugal

Last Updated: May 9, 2024

Progetto siciliano per il riutilizzo degli scarti del ficodindia finalista in Portogallo

International nomination for EbioScart Go Fico, a project on the valorization of prickly pear cactus waste led by the Scientific and Technological Park of Sicily. It was indeed among the finalists in Estoril, Portugal, at the Eip AgriInnovation Awards ceremony.

Representing Sicily were the innovation broker Carmelo Danzì with a video contribution summarizing the project and the partner Giacomo Abruzzo, who received the certification for the project’s nomination.

EbiEbioScart aims to valorize and reuse the by-products and waste from Sicilian productions of Opuntia Ficus-indica, the scientific name of prickly pear cactus, also using renewable energy sources for a bioeconomy. The activities fall within the strategy of circular economy sustainability, with a measure of the Psr-Sicilia 2014-2020, and are part of the prickly pear sector in the three Sicilian poles: Etna, Roccapalumba, and Santa Margherita di Belice. The project stems from the challenge undertaken by a group of agricultural entrepreneurs who realized that the different products that can be obtained from the prickly pear cactus plant can capture truly interesting profit margins on the market with increasing trends in both quantities and earnings.