Frugal Innovation and Patent Analysis in Sericulture: Lessons for Sustainable Rural Bioeconomy Systems

Mónica Fernanda Suárez-Sánchez, Humberto Merritt, Carlos Victor Muñoz-Ruiz, Mauricio Suárez-Sánchez, Ernesto Oregel-Zamúdio, Sergio Arias-Martínez · 2025 · Sustainability

Summary. Patent analysis of silk-reeling technologies from 2000–2024 reveals that most innovations emphasize energy-intensive industrial methods unsuitable for low-resource rural contexts in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The study evaluated 212 patents against criteria including resource efficiency, accessibility, and social inclusion, finding that current designs marginalize traditional producers—mostly women and smallholders—from emerging bio-based value chains. The authors argue for resource-efficient, modular, socially inclusive innovations to support rural sericulture within circular bioeconomy systems.

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@article{su-rez-s-nchez-2025-frugal-innovation-patent-analysis-sericulture,
  title   = {Frugal Innovation and Patent Analysis in Sericulture: Lessons for Sustainable Rural Bioeconomy Systems},
  author  = {Mónica Fernanda Suárez-Sánchez and Humberto Merritt and Carlos Victor Muñoz-Ruiz and Mauricio Suárez-Sánchez and Ernesto Oregel-Zamúdio and Sergio Arias-Martínez},
  journal = {Sustainability},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.3390/su172210026},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3390/su172210026}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Frugal Innovation and Patent Analysis in Sericulture: Lessons for Sustainable Rural Bioeconomy Systems
AU  - Mónica Fernanda Suárez-Sánchez
AU  - Humberto Merritt
AU  - Carlos Victor Muñoz-Ruiz
AU  - Mauricio Suárez-Sánchez
AU  - Ernesto Oregel-Zamúdio
AU  - Sergio Arias-Martínez
JO  - Sustainability
PY  - 2025
DO  - 10.3390/su172210026
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3390/su172210026
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.3390/su172210026

Countries

India, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, Kenya

Regions

Asia, South America, Africa

Categories

agtech, food-systems, innovation-theory

Added

2026-04-28