Transforming Agriculture Residues for Sustainable Development

Jaya Arora, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany at Mohanlal Sukhadia (MLS) University, Udaipur, India. She received her M.Sc. (2006) and Ph.D. (2012) from MLS University. She has been working for the past 14 years in the fields of plant biotechnology, natural products, secondary metabolite production, seed biology studies for the conservation of medicinal plants, and proteomics (bioactive peptides) along with biochemistry, ecophysiology of halophytes and their responses to salt stress. Dr. Arora has more than 35 publications in international journals and has edited and authored several books, including Agricultural Waste: Environmental Impact, Useful Metabolites, and Energy Production (Springer, 2023), Plant Antioxidants and Health (Springer, 2022), and Medicinal Plants: Domestication, Biotechnology, and Regional Importance (Springer, 2021). Various agencies, including UGC, CSIR, and DST, have funded her research. 

Abhishek Joshi is working as a Research Associate in the Department of Botany at Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur. He holds a Master's degree in Botany, specializing in halophyte biology. His doctoral research has focused on unraveling the biochemical and molecular mechanisms that enable halophytes to thrive in saline conditions. He has eight years of research experience with halophytes that occur in Southern Rajasthan of the Indian subcontinent and 26 publications in international journals and books.

Ramesh C. Ray, Ph.D., is Director of the Centre for Food Biology and Environmental Studies, Bhubaneswar, India. He is a former Principal Scientist (Microbiology) and Head of the ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (Regional Centre), Bhubaneswar, India. He has 40 years of research experience in agriculture, food, and industrial microbiology, has published 145 research and review papers in national and international journals, 75 book chapters, edited and co-edited 24 books published by Springer, CRC Press, and Elsevier, co-authored three books, and has received more than 8250 citations. He was a guest faculty with the Department of Botany and Microbiology at Utkal University, Orissa, India, a Visiting Professor/Scientist at several universities and research institutes in India and abroad, and a consultant for the International Potato Centre, Lima, Peru, on sweet potato. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the prestigious National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi, India, and the National Academy of Biological Sciences, Chennai, India.

Section 1. Introduction.- Agriculture Waste and Its Impact on the Environment.- Valorization Strategies for Agriculture Residues: An Overview.- Section 2. Routes for Value Addition to Agricultural Waste.- Biochemical and Thermochemical Conversion Technologies for Agriculture Waste.- Biotechnological Approaches for Agriculture Waste Transformation.- Emerging Technologies for Efficient Extraction of Value From Agriculture Waste.- Production of Metallic Nanoparticles From Agriculture Waste and Their Applications.- Section 3. Recent Trends in Valorization of Agricultural Waste.- Production of Bioactive Compounds From Agriculture Residues With Food and Pharmaceutical Applications.- Agricultural Waste for Bio-Fertilizers and Soil Amendments.- Conversion of Agricultural Residue Into High-Value Animal Feed and Bedding.- Sustainable Packaging Solutions From Agriculture Waste.- Conversion of Agriculture Residues for Bioenergy Production.- Utilization of Agriculture Waste in Water and Wastewater Treatment.- Agriculture Waste for Sustainable Building Materials.- Case Studies in Successful Applications of Agriculture Waste Transformation: Cassava.- Section 4. Public Policy and Circular Economy.- Economic Viability and Policy Implications of Agriculture Waste Valorization.- Challenges and Future Perspectives in Agriculture Waste Valorization.- Concluding Remarks. A Roadmap to Sustainable Development Through Waste Valorization.