Waste Recycling for the Eco-friendly Input Use Efficiency in Agriculture and Livestock Feeding

he increasing competition for available resources and inefficient use of those limited resources necessitates the need to improve the use of available resources. If these inefficacies are not corrected, the resource-poor farmers, mainly living in developing countries will be most affected. Yet these resource farmers contribute immensely for food production in developing countries. Smallholder farmers must be proactive and learn to adopt new strategies that can assist them in continuing farming with maximum use of limited agricultural resources and even wastes in agriculture. Several methods are available to improve the use of agricultural wastes, including non-agronomic benefits. Furthermore, we suggest the integration of waste resources, such as from both the trilogy of human– animal–crop wastes. Similarly, inexpensive techniques are encouraged among the farmers, including composting and vermicomposting of human–crop–animal wastes and/or slaughterhouse/abattoir wastes, biocharing of crop and animal wastes as various means of recycling/recovering nutrients in the soil system. Furthermore, the deployment of fungi could also improve the resource use efficiency through mushroom growth and sales, crop residue fermentation to enhance its feed value. Livestock farmers facing nutritional problems can apply microbes through fermentation to reduce antinutritional factors (lignin, tannins) in plants, and improve the safety of kitchen and dairy waste before feeding. Alternatively, farmers are encouraged to raise micro livestock (rabbits, snails, and grasscutters) on their farm to improve the use of resources. On a large scale, nitrogen and phosphorus recovery from cow urine, slurry, human feces, and fermentation of phytate rich plants with phytate on industrial scales is recommended. This chapter aims to provide insight into the methods by which farmers and industries, especially those in developing countries, can improve their available resources for agricuture and as livestock feeds

Sustainable agriculture options for production, greenhouse gasses andpollution alleviation, and nutrient recycling in emerging and transitional nations - An overview

Previous and current agricultural practices have contributed to environmental pollution, which is further affecting food security, human health, and climate. Yet, agriculture cannot be eliminated, because, of its promising role in ending hunger, reducing poverty, improving nutrition, and achieving food security in low-middle income countries. Hence, there is a need for shift from ‘unclean’ practices to sustainable practices. Similarly, differences in pollution, among nations call for regional changes or intervention in agri-food practices to reduce global pollution. These practices are essential for African and Asian countries. Of the many methods proposed in this review, localized technology improvement and globalized sustainable intensification are of high impact models having the potential of mitigating greenhouse gases up to an extent of 30%. Various methods of achieving these measures include, but not limited to, the shift in management systems of crop and livestock production, encouraging agriculture and veterinary practices with less environmental impact and high adaptation, enabling nutrient recycling or recovery, resource-use efficiency, mitigation of nitrous oxide and methane from soil, implementation of integrated farming system and insect farming. Government agencies along with agri-food producers, processors, and farmers must be ready to change their current agricultural practices by adopting new methods. The review conclude that the sustainable agricultural production is possible through the use of low-priced local resources that are capable of increasing soil carbon storage, thus combating the pollution in countries with a transition economy