Key Sustainable Ways to Reduce Waste and Improve Efficiency in Agro-Food Processing Sector – Indian Chamber of Commerce Blogs

Overview of the sector

The food processing industry serves as a platform for diversifying agricultural activities, adding value to agricultural produce, and creating surplus goods for export. It acts as a link between farms and consumers, ensuring better prices for farmers and increasing global demand for Indian agricultural products.

As agriculture is a key sector in India, the food processing industry, as an allied sector, is experiencing growth. The market size of the food processing industry was INR 28,027.5 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach INR 61,327.5 billion by 2032, showing an estimated growth of 8.8% from 2024 to 2032.

Agro and food processing waste

The agro and food processing sector produces a significant amount of waste rich in carbon content, making it a potential renewable substrate for sustainable bio hydrogen production. Studies have demonstrated that common food wastes such as dining hall or restaurant waste and wastes from food processing industries contain high percentages of hydrogen in gas composition, production yield, and rate. The carbon composition in food waste also plays a crucial role in determining high bio hydrogen yield. Additionally, physicochemical factors such as pre-treatment to seed culture, pH, temperature (mesophilic/thermophilic), and others are important to ensure the dominance of hydrogen-producing bacteria in dark fermentation.

With a global focus on climate resilience, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation, the adoption of sustainable practices in the agro-food processing sector has become imperative. The sector has already begun adopting eco-friendly practices such as biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable alternatives to achieve sustainability. Furthermore, the adoption of environmentally friendly food packaging, including Cornstarch packaging, recycled cardboard, Mushroom Packaging, and more from the food processing sector, is another step towards sustainability.

 

Why Sustainability?

Farming plays a crucial role in the rural economy by supporting the livelihoods of rural communities, generating income, and contributing to inclusive growth and poverty reduction. However, agriculture, agricultural products, and food processing are currently being challenged by climate change. It is essential to address this issue.

Implementing sustainable and resource-efficient agricultural practices is necessary to help farmers adapt to these changes, maintain their livelihoods, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from farming activities. Furthermore, developing sustainable food value chains is important for creating innovative pathways out of poverty. This can be achieved through local value addition, such as local processing, and by connecting farmers directly to higher-value export markets. Following are the benefits that can be reaped from sustainable practices;

• Food security and easy access to healthy food options
• Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural activities
• Higher degree of resource conservation
• Reduction in farming costs
• Improvement in market competitiveness

How waste can be managed?

With the increasing population and demand for food, the production of agricultural products is growing rapidly to meet the demand, and food processing is also expanding. However, the downside of this growth is the significant amount of waste being generated, which emits a considerable amount of carbon into the environment. Steps for waste management to transition the economy and environment towards a zero-waste situation can be organized in a hierarchy as follows:

 

 

 

N.B.: Grey portion implies the least preferable step in the entire process of waste management.

Although there are many options available, the most preferable and cost-effective practice is to prevent waste at the source. This can be achieved by using forecasting techniques before production and accurately estimating demand. If waste generation cannot be completely prevented, the next step is to minimize the amount of waste produced. Any unavoidable minimal waste can be reused in various forms such as animal feed, manure, biofuels, biogas, and biofertilizers. For food processing wastes, reusing can be done by repairing, refurbishing, or repurposing items to extend their lifespan and avoid the need for new production. Another effective waste management method is recycling, which involves processing waste materials to create new products and recover valuable resources. Lastly, landfilling is the least preferable waste management option and is used only when none of the above methods are applicable.

Automation in Agro & Food processing

In the era of digitization, AI is becoming a game changer for all the sectors to overcome the challenges and become competent. Impact of AI is also noticeable in agro and food processing sector. In agriculture, AI is used through data analytics, sensors and drones to monitor crop health, land state and weather. On the other side, AI is used through robots in food processing sector for sorting, grading and packaging to ensure that production line is consistent and high-quality. Moreover, in food processing, AI also helps with predicting possible equipment breakdowns, which cuts down on downtime and prevents breakdowns before they happen which will in-turn reduce production and maintenance cost. In the current era of digitization, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force across various industries, enabling them to effectively address challenges and enhance their competitive standing.

Benefits of AI in the Food Industry:

• Enhanced efficiency
• Greater safety for food
• Savings on costs
• Smarter Decision-Making
• Customized Service for Each Customer

Way forward

Hydrogen is widely acknowledged as a clean, renewable, and highly promising future fuel. The utilization of waste biomass for the biological production of hydrogen constitutes a significant domain within the sphere of bio-energy production. This method of waste management is gaining traction on a global scale, and India stands as a capable entity in effectively repurposing waste. In light of the escalating global energy demand, the utilization of renewable resources, specifically food waste and food processing waste, for the production of bio-hydrogen presents itself as an innovative and promising approach to offsetting the use of fossil fuels while concurrently addressing the challenge of waste disposal.

Conclusion

The agro-food processing sector is compelled to embrace sustainable practices as an imperative rather than an option for long-term viability. Through the adoption of strategies aimed at waste reduction, enhanced efficiency, and the integration of innovative technologies, the sector can significantly mitigate its environmental footprint while concurrently bolstering profitability and competitive advantage. As consumer consciousness regarding environmental impact intensifies, businesses that prioritize sustainability are better positioned to address market requirements and contribute to global endeavors in combatting climate change.

By infusing sustainability across every facet of the agro-food processing value chain, spanning from raw material procurement to packaging and distribution, the sector can spearhead the transition towards a more robust and environmentally conscious future.