Backyard production as a sustainable circular bioeconomy model in the reduction of food waste

Abstract

Achieving food security is one of today’s most critical challenges. FAO estimated that in 2020 globally, between 720 and 811 million people worldwide suffered from hunger, while one in three people did not have adequate food. It is a reality that the performance of the agri-food production chain is being influenced by climate change, deforestation, a transition in eating habits, and a displacement of the rural population to urban areas, among others. Based on the above, the objective of this chapter focuses on analyzing backyard production as a system of agri-food self-production supported by the circular bioeconomy that allows the reuse of the waste generated, such as agricultural residues, as inputs in the form of fertilizer, irrigation water, for backyard production components. The methodological approach used is retro-prospecting, supported by an analytical, observational, descriptive non-experimental analysis; Implemented in three phases to obtain the conceptual design of a backyard production system. As a result of the study, the conception of a conceptual design supported by a circular bioeconomy model capable of revaluing waste from backyard production, and its reuse in the same generating chain or another value chain. The conceptual design from the circular bioeconomy obtained is presented as a strategy with high potential to improve the food self-sufficiency of the self-producing family in vulnerable areas, under a commitment to environmental responsibility, pays towards guaranteeing food security.