Agriculture is critical for the survival of human civilization. We obtain food, such as millets, lentils, fruits, etc., as well as non-food products like cotton, jute, rubber, etc., from agriculture. In the Indian context, agriculture contributed to about 20.2 percent of the Gross Value Added (GVA) of India for the year 2020-21 (PIB Delhi, 2021), and 1,48,078 thousand hectares (75%) and 49,242 thousand hectares (25%) of land are used for growing food crops and non-food crops, respectively (Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 2021). These products, in their final form, constitute only a fraction of the total biomass produced in the process. For example, Dhanraj et al. (2021) summarized the ratio of residue to crop for cotton, sorghum, sugarcane, wheat, and rice. The ratio ranges from 0.25 for sugarcane to 3.8 for cotton. In other words, for 1 kg of cotton produced, 3.8 kg of residual biomass needs to be disposed of. Thus, there is a significant untapped potential for residual biomass.One of the main utilities of this biomass is the production of biofuels. According to one estimate by International Energy Agency (2023) (IEA), 6% of the global energy is supplied using biomass-based resources. Studies have been conducted to explore the use of these resources; for example, Hiloidhari et al. ( 2014) analyzed the potential of bioenergy from crop residue in India. They considered 26 main crops, which produce about 686 MT of crop residue. Their analysis indicated that if this agro-biomass is utilized effectively to produce bioenergy, it could compensate 17% of India's total primary energy consumption (bioenergy equivalent to about 4.15 EJ). As discussed by Samer (2019); Otoni et al. ( 2021), another route of utilizing the agro-biomass is the production of bioplastics and other advanced materials However, these routes are relatively less explored than biofuel production routes and are yet to be established. This overall process of value retention of agro-biomass is termed agro-biomass valorization.If this residual biomass is not used for any of the uses discussed above, then typically, it is treated as waste. There is a cost associated with the disposal of this material. Further, the decomposition of waste biomass releases methane, which is a greenhouse gas, thus, contributing to climate change. Moreover, it can also cause health hazards. Owing to the Frontiers in Agronomy frontiersin.org 01