Socio-economic impacts of possible brewery waste recycling in agriculture

Abstract

Adoption of agricultural technology may solve problem of farmers in agriculture, but its environmental, social and economic impacts should be evaluated in advance of field and laboratory experiments in context of food crops. The use of brewery sludge (BS) technology is one of the means by which soil fertility, crop production and productivity can be improved to meet the growing food demands of people in the world. However, the use of BS or brewery by-product as alternative means of organic fertilizer source in agriculture was ignored by farmers in Ethiopia for decades. This study was elucidated the environmental, social and economic impacts of brewery waste recycling in agricultural crop production. Additionally, the obtained information was forwarded to Ethiopian government to include this environmentally friend technology in agricultural policy of country. Primary data were collected from respondents drawn from smallholder farmers who used BS on their farm lands, and in supplement of this study field experiments also carried out on research station and farm site to evaluate crops productivity. Descriptive statistics and other experimental methods were used evaluate the obtained data. The use brewery waste recycling technology in agriculture has an impact of environmentally friend, better crops productivity, socially acceptable and economic importance.

A critical review on the biotechnological potential of Brewers’ waste: Challenges and future alternatives

“…BSG was generally applied before, during, and after the sowing of seeds. The application of the spent grains successfully enhanced the yield of maize, sorghum, and khat crops ( Merga et al, 2020 ). Kopeć et al (2021) reported on the potentiality of spent hop sediments for composting.…”

“…Hence, the composting of nitrogen-rich hop sediments requires a structural substrate with considerably greater C:N ratios like sawdust or straw. With the proper quantitative and qualitative allocation of substrates, stable composting with spent hop deposits may be produced after 60 days of extensive aerobic decomposition ( Merga et al, 2020 ). Hence, the scientific and judicious implementation of BSG and spent hops to the soil at the proper times can replace the exploitation of conventional fertilizers.…”

By-Product Valorization as a Means for the Brewing Industry to Move toward a Circular Bioeconomy

“…The sharedresponsibility methodology also enabled stakeholders to see that the benefits of sustainable waste management were not only socio-environmental but also economic [154]. By-product valorization represents additional income for the producer but can also be economically advantageous for the by-product user [155].…”