Agriculture and Food Circularity in Malaysia

Abstract

The area of circular economy in terms of organic waste in agriculture and food sector has always been challenging without an effective and efficient mechanism of collection and processing into value-added products. There is no circularity in food and agriculture unless the waste management process (for both production and consumption) is able to produce value-added and financially viable products, services and cash. Natural resources are used to grow agriculture products which are processed into food, bio-based materials and energy for consumption. In this process of production and consumption, waste is generated from post-harvesting, post-processing, pre-consumption and post-consumption. In the context of food, there is pre- and post-consumption food waste. Pre-consumption food waste can be edible food which can be recollected and resold or distributed to the needed consumer. The post-consumption food, the leftovers, can be processed together with the green waste into compost and soil enhancer which is then used by the agriculture sector to produce more food, and in so doing, the economic cycle is complete from food back to food.