Agro-Food Waste Valorization: Sustainable Pathways for Agricultural Applications
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2026 | Viewed by 8
Special Issue Editor
Interests: functional foods; polyphenols; antioxidants; public health; nutritional evaluation; natural product extracts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Agro-food waste valorization has emerged as a critical pillar of sustainable agriculture and the circular economy. Every year, large volumes of food and agricultural by-products are discarded, leading to environmental burdens and economic losses. Transforming these residues into valuable resources—such as biofertilizers, biostimulants, animal feed, bioenergy, and functional ingredients—offers a promising pathway to enhance agricultural productivity, reduce waste, and improve food system resilience.
This Special Issue aims to highlight cutting-edge research on innovative strategies for agro-food waste valorization and its direct applications in agriculture. Topics of interest include biotechnological approaches, green extraction methods, composting and fermentation technologies, and the development of bio-based products that improve soil health, crop yield, and food quality. Contributions addressing policy frameworks, life-cycle assessments, and socio-economic impacts are also welcome.
We invite original research articles, reviews, and case studies that explore novel valorization techniques, interdisciplinary approaches, and practical applications. By gathering diverse perspectives from food science, agronomy, environmental engineering, and public health, this Special Issue seeks to advance knowledge and promote sustainable solutions for the agro-food sector.
Dr. Vassilis Athanasiadis
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- agro-food waste
- valorization
- circular economy
- biofertilizers
- biostimulants
- sustainable agriculture
- food by-products
- green technologies
- nutritional evaluation
- environmental impact
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