The Circular Economy in Agriculture and Sustainable Development Goals.

  Circular economy, a new model of production based on the reduce,reuse and recycle but with emphasis on turning products/ by products to inputs in the cycle of production.

  The benefits of the circular economy are enormous but can be  to the sustainable development goals.(SDGS).

 The  circular economy results in more food production using sustainable methods, thus aligning with zero hunger .(sdg2)

 The recycling model of turning some products to inputs, reduces waste, provides new forms of clean and affordable energy.

This model reduces the pressure on the environment by turning waste to wealth, thus combating climate action while building sustainable cities and communities.(SDG 13 and 11).

The reuse of waste water by recycling also provides clean water while making environment clean by preventing run-off of waste water thus maintaining sanitation standards.(SDG 6).

 The circular economy is a paradigm shift from the linear economy by using innovative methods and strategies to improve production cycle to increase profit while curbing waste which translates to building sustainable industry,infrastructure with innovative models.(SDG 9)

 The production cycle in circular economy will open up opportunities creating decent work and economic growth. (SDG 8)

 The circular economy in  Agriculture aligns with the sustainable development goals also by ensuring life on land, below water are safe leading to responsible consumption and production. SDG14,15 and 12)

 The circular economy in the poultry sector:1) waste collected and turned to energy.

2) Feathers recycled, reused in fashion and construction industry reducing pressure of waste dumping in environment while creating wealth.

3)Feathers as raw materials for animal feed, feather meal.

4) Feathers as raw materials in creative industry, fashion and arts increasing opportunities for export of products while creating jobs and reducing climate action.

4)Innovative feeding methods that increases productivity without increasing cost of production by using feed stuff that are noncompetitive.

5) Eggs turned  egg powder an innovative product to curb egg glut, create a handy method to transport eggs while increasing shelf life.

6) Egg shells turned to calcium source for animals  and also shells used as raw material for scouring powder.

7)Egg shells also used as raw material in arts and crafts.

8)Egg shells turned to crockery,

 The opportunities are endless, the cycle continues. Food to waste and waste to food, energy and other products.

AGRIBUSINESS : Zero food waste as food expiration dates undergo a revolution.

AGRIBUSINESS : Zero food waste as food expiration dates undergo a revolution. New automated grocery-pricing system from Israel promises to slash food waste, cut prices for consumers, and increase profits for supermarkets. 

About half of all the food produced in the world is wasted every year. That’s about two billion tons of food, worth billions of dollars. It’s a shocking statistic, and at the end of the day, it’s not just the supermarkets or food producers that pay the price – it’s all of us. 

 A hungry planet with limited resources, a high carbon footprint, and rapidly changing climate cannot afford to throw food in the bin.

A new Israeli startup, Wasteless, hopes to help cut some of this waste with a new AI system that will transform how supermarkets approach food expiration dates. 

 Zero food waste as food expiration dates undergo a revolution. 

 “Food expiration dates are the main cause of retail waste and the cost is tremendous, both to business and to the environment,” says Oded Omer, co-founder of Wasteless. 

“Food is the single largest product in landfills, where it emits extremely harmful gases, including methane.’’ 

  Wasteless, which was founded in 2017, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can offer customers a variable pricing system based on a product’s expiration date.

 A carton of milk that is set to expire in a few days will cost less than one due to expire in 10 days.It sounds simple, but the technology behind is not. 

The Wasteless pricing engine employs a branch of machine learning called reinforcement learning, which automatically maps inventory stock and time of day into a series of optimal prices.

Food systems: Cutting food waste using technology.

Globally, food waste is rising to 50 percent as developing nations struggle with spoilage while developed nations simply toss edible food away. The crux of the matter actually is that by 2050 there will be about 9billion people to feed,thus pushing for more food production. 

 According to data,much food is produced but waste from farms to stores and from stores to tables are actually responsible for food insecurity with malnutrition and famine as outcomes in developing nations. 

 Data analysis has shown that curbing waste will provide the extra food for the growing population,if a quarter of what is wasted now is salvaged then we are halfway through to feeding the projected population. Food preservation,storage and handling are the key points of interest as all waste stems from one of these or a combination depending on the country involved. 

Cutting food waste using technology can come in several forms such as cooling,chilling, vacuum sealing and drying. Refrigerators are in the market that tell when food is going bad,there are giant vats of organic waste using the same process as the human stomach to make energy(biogas)and apps that help you shop more efficiently. 

 There are apps that help shoppers plan meals better to avoid overbuying perishable items, or calculate the shelf life of different groceries. In the home, smart fridges now give consumers even more information about their food. 

These fridges, pioneered by LG and Samsung, help keep track of your perishables, alert you when something is about to spoil and use Internet connectivity to help devise recipes. The consumers as of today still have to input all the items you buy in the fridge but the next-generation smart fridge will automatically scan its own contents. 

 Waste operators,farmers and big food retailers have been using anaerobic digesters, giant sealed containers where bacteria breaks food waste down into bio gas, a renewable energy source that comes from organic material fermenting without oxygen, to make energy from compostable food thus saving money on electricity and gas. 

 Chilling and vacuum sealing also useful to cut waste especially from farm to markets,especially where there is a good road network to shorten distance from farm to market.

Production is not the problem but handling of produce from farm to the market,take the case of tomatoes in Nigeria;we produce more than enough but about 45% is lost thus forcing importation of tomato paste to bridge the shortfall see Vacuum sealing extends shelf-live of produce,especially when combined with chilling or cooling as a storage option. 

Education of farmers on innovative farming techniques especially those that can be practiced by local farmers will go a long way to cut losses. 

 Thinking of cutting food waste to ensure food security ? then build a network of diversified farmers,with an off-takers scheme such that produce are collected onsite by processors,for onward delivery to markets as farm fresh products and as raw materials for in food processing and packaging plants. 

Telecommunications to ensure food security and food safety come in here

10 COMMANDMENTS FOR POULTRY HEALTH.

1) Procure healthy birds from reputable hatcheries.


2)Enforce and ensure strict bio security protocol.


3)Attach your farm to  a veterinarian and adhere to professional advice


. 4)Be alert for signs of diseases and notify vet immediately.


 5)Restrict movement of animals,people and farm tools to farm premises.


 6)House birds in clean,properly ventilated and disinfected quarters.


 7)Follow a proper vaccination and medication programme.


 8) Give well balanced ration and water to birds.


 9) Dispose waste and dead birds properly.


10) Avoid indiscriminate use of antibiotics.

MONEY AND ENERGY FROM POULTRY.

The poultry industry is a viable sector ensuring food security and contributing to the GDP of the economy. The revenue generated from this industry has been harnessed to drive growth and development but better management practices can actually increase the figures and provide more by- products that will further propel growth. The waste produced by the birds is a threat to the environment because of improper disposal and utilization of millions of tons of manure and litter soiled droppings produced daily. The waste generated by poultry is a problem to farmers as the high nitrogen content of the waste releases ammonia fumes in the air making environment unbearable, hence most poultry farmers are at a loss at how to manage the waste. Poultry waste normally is used as fertilizer for vegetable farm but it must be stored for about a period of 6 months before it can be used,the use of poultry waste to make bio-gas is a much better way. Chicken waste can be used to produce eco-friendly bio-gas which will provide energy in form of heat,gas(methane) for cooking and electricity and the digested slurry is disposed as treated fertilizer which has better market value. The use of the chicken manure to make gas requires specialized digester: the chicken manure is a peculiar waste to use to generate bio--gas because of the high nitrogen content ,but technology has found a way around it . The use of a specialized pre-treatment technology makes the anaerobic digestion easy, and the gas generated can be used to power homes and business across the country. The use of waste to generate electricity in the world today has various advantages to the individuals,nation and the environment. The waste generated in the poultry industry, the livestock farms,agricultural waste,food waste and human waste can be channeled into a bio-gas plant to produce methane,heat and electricity. The power generation in most countries need to be upgraded to serve the populace better,drive industrial growth and maintain a safe environment.The millions of tons of chicken droppings/litter can be channeled and put in a bio-gas plant to generate electricity. Waste of poultry has before now been a menace to the society because of improper management and disposal,but with the introduction of a pre-treatment technology that treats the waste before its passed to the anaerobic digester,for breakdown to produce the desired products. The use of chicken waste to generate power will reduce cost of production in the manufacturing industry,which will translate to lowered overhead cost,lower prices of products and more profit for manufacturers.

BIO GAS.

ONE WORLD, ONE HEALTH.

One world,one health; the veterinarian and medical doctors working together on the avian influenza virus outbreak.

 Today,i went with a team of investigators from the federal ministry of health and NVRI to a farm that recently had the bird flu outbreak.

The team had to ask questions and collect samples. one world,one health,one medicine.

AG BAGS.

Ag-bags are flexible,efficient and reliable agricultural storage systems.The bags are safe and effective for composting,making silage,storing feeds . When ag bags are used for storage of feed,it makes the feed easily digestible by the animals ,highly metabolized in the animals ensuring rapid growth and development. The ag-bags used for composting is a better recycling method of waste,as it avoid expensive land fill costs and it gives a greener solution to waste management. HOW THE AG BAGS ARE USED FOR COMPOSTING.;

ECO PODS.

Waste from the following sources are of value in the ecopod, although these need to be sized,mixed and moist for onward transfer to the ag bags.