With the theme for this year’s recycling week being tagged ‘Reuse Me’ sustainable farming is seen as one way through which most agricultural produce can be stopped from ending up in the bin. With global agricultural waste estimated to be between 1.2 to 1.3 billion tons annually, sustainable farming could help in the significant reduction and recycling of waste globally.
Sustainable farming is concerned with adopting different environmentally and ecologically friendly agricultural practices. With its drive for the continuous production of foods without harming the environment, it is believed to possess waste reduction and recycling capabilities through the constant adoption of methods like composting, water recycling, and mulching.
Sustainable farming employs different techniques which help in the reduction and recycling of waste, among these is composting of agricultural waste. Composting as a technique helps to reduce agricultural waste by turning farm waste, products and by-products into stabilised organic matter and rich carbon products that can serve as fertilising agents. Through this technique, waste reduction and recycling are achieved, by converting farm residues like animal waste and unsold produce that should have resulted into landfills into nutrient compost, used as natural manure.
Another means through which sustainable farming helps in the reduction and recycling of waste is through water recycling and reuse techniques. Water is the sustainer of life, and its management is essential for the preservation of mankind. Through sustainable farming, water can be collected, conserved, reused, and recycled from different sources for irrigation purposes. One of the water recycling techniques includes scenarios where wastewater from urban areas is collected for agricultural use.
Similarly, sustainable farming helps to boost waste recycling and reduction through its technique of mulching. Mulching which involves the practice of leaving protective materials (majorly tree leaves and wood) on the soil to improve soil conservation and fertility is one way through which sustainable farming helps to reduce or recycle waste. Through mulching, vegetation of different kinds which could have resulted in increased landfills and carbon emission through burning, is either left strategically on farmlands to improve soil health or developed into products capable of suppressing weeds and pests. An example of this is the development of mulch material from coconut coir by Coco360 Ghana, (a key stakeholder in the FRESHPPACT project) to replace plastic mulch in farmlands.
As the world continues to experience rapid growth in population and economic activities, the need for proper waste management and environmentally friendly approaches are also a major concern. Sustainable farming not only helps to present environmentally friendly approaches to these problems but also helps in the reduction of waste generated from agricultural-related activities. Its various techniques like composting, mulching, water recycling, crop rotation, and a host of others are believed to not only promote the sustainability of farmlands and their environment but also promote the reduction, reuse and recycling of agricultural waste.
Article written by: Frank Aisagbon
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