ABSTRACT
A g ricu ltu re is th e w o r ld 's la rg est econom ic sector. O n w o rld w id e basis, m o re p e o p le a re in v o lv ed in a g ric u ltu re th a n in all o th e r o ccu p a tio n s com bined (Estabrook, 2000). H o w ev er, a fte r th e p rocessing of ag ricu ltu ra l c rops, m illions of to n n es of low -value b y -p ro d u c ts are g en era ted annua lly , w h ich in g en e ra l a re ca lled a g ric u ltu ra l re s id u e s (H ayes, 2003). The v o lu m e a n d d iv e rs ity of th ese re s id u e s re p re se n t an e n o rm o u s a n d u n d e ru tiliz e d ren ew ab le re so u rce , w h ic h can c rea te ad v e rse en v iro n m en ta l a n d cost im p ac ts fo r d isp o sa l. B iop rocessing of th ese ag ricu ltu ra l res id u es b y u s in g m icroo rgan ism s for in d u str ia l p u rp o se s is a m u ch m o re en v iro n m en ta l frien d ly p rac tice th an m an y res id u e d isposa l m e th o d s c u rre n tly in use . U n til recen tly , m a n y fa rm ers d isp o se d of a g ric u ltu ra l w a s te s b y b u rn in g o r la n d filling th em (B oopathy , 2005). Therefore, u s in g ag ricu ltu ra l res id u es as a n in d u str ia l feedstock is a critical ch an n e l for d rastica lly red u c in g th e e n v iro n m en ta l p rob lem . T he m ajor a d v a n ta g e s fo r u s in g a g ric u ltu ra l re s id u e s a re th ree-fo ld : econom ic, env iro n m en ta l, a n d technological. Economic: For th e farm er, a g ricu ltu ra l re s id u e s can b e a cash c rop , too. T rad itio n a lly , fa rm ers h a v e h a rv e s te d g ra in s a n d b u rn t o r o th e rw ise
1 Regional Centre o f Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Bhubaneswar 751 019, India 2 Laboratory o f Applied M icrobiology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan *Corresponding author: r c j a y @rediffmail.com
d isp o sed of s tra w a n d o th e r re s id u es (stalks, stover, etc.), b u t the h e ig h ten ed in te res t in m ak in g u se of a g ricu ltu ra l w aste in h a rn ess in g p ro fit su ch as cu ltiv a tin g m u sh ro o m s m ean s th a t farm ers can reap a "second ha rv est" from g ra in p lan tin g s (M andeel e t al., 2005). Environmental: Farm ers w ill also am ass env ironm en ta l d iv idends; s tud ies have sh o w n th a t the b u rn in g of ag ricu ltu ra l w astes causes air po llu tion , soil erosion, an d decrease in soil biological activity , w h ich even tually lead to soil c ru sting an d m ay low er y ields (Boopathy, 2005). A n increase in farm earn ings w ill d im in ish the need for farm subsid ies, w h ich w ill even tually save m oney for taxpayers an d red u ce farm ers ' reliance on the governm en t for su p p o rt (M orris, 1997). Technological: C u rren t resea rch a n d tes tin g in d ica te th a t u se of ag ricu ltu ra l res id u es is b es t ach ieved at sm all an d local in d u strie s . The local in d u stries u sing ag ricu ltu ra l residues w ill offer a n u m b er of jobs to the reg ion w here it is difficult to s ta rt b ig in d u stries (Al W ong, 1996).
