SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND APPROACHES: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

The leftovers from the cultivation and processing of raw agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy products, and crops, are referred to as agricultural wastes. These are the byproducts of agricultural production and processing that are not products and may include materials useful to humanity, but whose economic worth is less than the expenses of gathering, transporting, and preparing them for use. They might be liquids, slurries or solids and their composition will vary depending on the system and kind of agricultural activity. Animal waste (manure, animal carcasses), food processing waste, crop waste (corn stalks, sugarcane bagasse, drops and culls from fruits and vegetables, prunings) and hazardous and toxic agricultural waste (pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides, etc.) are all considered to be part of agricultural waste, also known as agro-waste. Although estimates of the amount of agricultural waste generated are few, it is widely believed that they account for a sizable fraction of the trash produced in the developed world. Increases in livestock manure, crop wastes, and agro-industrial byproducts are inevitable outcomes of growing agricultural production. Global agricultural waste output is projected to rise significantly if developing nations keep up their intensification of farming practices. However, unplanned disposal of agro-industrial waste can cause extensive contamination of the land, water, and air. In order to reduce GHG emissions and the effects of climate change, it is important to use and manage these wastes in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.