Waste to Wealth Techniques in Agriculture: A Strategy for Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

Global population increase over the decades has put a great demand on food productivity which has consequently made agriculture sector a major waste generator. Agriculture waste generation comes from crop residues, animal manure and droppings, food processing by-products as well as food packaging materials. Improper handling of farming by-products can lead to water pollution, air pollution, soil fertility distortion and loss of valuable organic matter. Therefore, an appropriate waste management strategy is essential to check the ugly trend due to agriculture waste. Agriculture wastes are thus transformed into valuable products such as enzymes, biochar, biogas, animal feeds and other useful products to support environmental sustainability and for economic empowerment of the farmer. The paper reviewed different techniques for converting agriculture wastes into valuable outputs and products for a sustainable environment.