Potential of Surplus Crop Residues, Horticultural Waste and Animal Excreta as a Nutrient Source in the Central and Western Regions of India

In the recent past, yield stagnation in major cropping systems of India along with declined soil fertility and soil health have emerged as a prime threat to sustainable food security. Moreover, with the rising population, there is increase in food demand from the limited land resources. This situation has led to a huge gap between the availability of nutrients and demands to sustain food security. It has thus become the need of the hour to recover and recycle nutrients that have been mined from the soil. Hence, recycling of surplus crop and horticultural residues, and animal excreta seems to be a viable option to minimize the nutrient gap. However, cumulative estimated data on the availability of unutilized crop and horticultural residues, and animal excreta are scare in Indian context. The present article gives an estimate of recyclable biowaste in the states of central and western India, that could be utilized as baseline information by future policymakers.