eChapters

To many Bio Fertilizer is still an unclear term. Often they are identified as urban and rural organic wastes, plant extracts, organic components etc. However, Bio Fertilizer is mostly commonly referred to the use of soil micro organisms to increase the uptake and availability of plant nutrients. Bio Fertilizer have gained a good deal of momentum and the industry after a slow start is now gaining more and more importance globally. The major reasons for this are that they:
1. Improves the soil structure.
2. Add nutrients to the soil / make the nutrients available to the crop
3. Secret certain growth promoting substances
4. Under certain conditions exhibit antifungal activities and there by protect the plants from pathogenic fungus
5. Enhances seed germination
6. Increase the soil fertility
7. Increase the agricultural productivity
8. The nitrogen fixed or phosphate solubilized will be beneficial to the
subsequent crops also.
The major, popularly used and commercially produced Bio Fertilizers are Nitrogen fixing bacterial fertilizers (Azotobacter Culture, Azospirillum Culture, Rhizobium Culture) and Phosphate solubilizing bacterial fertilizers (Pseudomonas Culture). However, currently their applications for other useful elements like Potash, Sulphur, Zincetc are also increasing.

At an Agri Summit, I had an in-enviable task to chair a session on “Sustainable Future”, with two well-known but extremely opposite personalities. On my left was a globally well-known environment activist talking about all the evils of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides. On my right was the President of Pesticide Association with equally strong views about how the chemical pesticides have greatly helped in feeding the hungry world. My task was further made difficult by a large lobby of green activists in the audience and also a number of seasoned industrialists with opposite views. Such a scenario is becoming increasingly common.
In January 2009, the European Council Directive 91-414 was passed banning a total of more than 40% chemical pesticides (David Frabotta, FCI – March, 2009). Earlier in 1993, there were 740 active ingredients available in European markets. By August 2008, however, 394 of these were no longer allowed and 113 more were still under review. It was predicted that in next 5 – 10 years, 85% of these could disappear from European markets. The Swedish chemical agency shortlisted nearly 21 chemical under criteria of ‘Endocrine’ ( The Endocrine criteria are defined as any substances that trigger class – 3 carcinogenic effect and class - 3 reproductive effect). These are new herbicides like :loxynil, Gluctosinate, etc. The two major class of fungicides are described as Triazoles and Dithiocarbonate. Triazoles are major weapon against septoria – a major fungal diseases in cereals.
BEYOND GREEN REVOLUTION
In spite of increase in the use of agrochemicals, the agricultural production and productivity has remained stagnant beyond 1990 due to poor soil conditions

Composting is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as fertilizer and soil conditioner. It is a natural process of decomposition and recycling of organic material into humus rich soil amendment. At the simplest level, the process of composting requires making a heap of organic material sprinkled with water which break down to humus after a period of weeks or months. However, modern bio composting is a multi-step, closely monitored process with measured inputs of water, air and carbon and nitrogen rich ( in proper C:N ratio ) materials.
The term composting is used and understand world wide with different
meanings. ( I remember a funny incidence in China when during my talk I mentioned that the process of bio composting does not appear to be understood by more than 80% people. Objecting to this, the President of the academy got up and said “80% is a wrong figure! More than 95% people do not understand it !!”). For many people, composting is used to refer to several types of biological process often calling it “anaerobic digestion”. The microbes used and the process involved are quite different between composting and anaerobic digestion.
Ingredients for Bio Composting
Bio Composting organisms require four important ingredient to function well:

Agriculture worldwide is undergoing a profound shift toward sustainability, driven by the need for increased productivity and environmental stewardship. Among the many innovations shaping this transition, biostimulants have gained prominence as a vital tool for enhancing crop performance, improving soil health, and promoting sustainable farming. Unlike conventional agrochemicals, biostimulants work by activating natural plant processes, enhancing nutrient uptake, and increasing resilience to environmental stress. The global agrichemical industry now distinctly categorizes biopesticides, biofertilizers and biostimulants.
WHAT ARE BIOSTIMULANTS?
Biostimulants are natural synthetic substances that enhance plant growth and development without being fertilizer or pesticides. They work by improving nutrient uptake, increasing stress resistance, and stimulating beneficial microbial activity in the soil. Unlike chemical fertilizers, which directly supply nutrients, biostimulants enhance the plant’s ability to utilize nutrients more efficiently.
TYPES OF BIOSTIMULANTS
Biostimulants are categorized based on their composition and mode of action:
Humic and Fulvic Acids – Improve soil structure, enhance nutrient availability and increase root growth.
Seaweed Extracts – Rich in phytohormones and trace elements that promote plant growth and stress resistance.
Amino Acids – Play a crucial role in protein synthesis and help plants recover from environmental stress.
Microbial Biostimulants – Beneficial bacteria and fungi that enhance nutrient uptake and improve soil health.
Brassinoloilds & Tricontanols – Help in vegetative growth and fruit development.
Alkaloids – Improve plant defense mechanism.

There is a great need to reduce the input costs and at the same time improve the farm productivity in a sustainable manner. A model has been worked out based on a number of field demonstration studies in different parts of India, Africa and Far Eastern countries. A model in which input cost can be reduced by nearly 20 percent and at the same time the crop production can be enhanced upto 20 percent is possible and can be a boon to farmers in most parts of the world. This is the model, which can be easily adopted in an evolutionary way. As suggested by Jonathan Foley (BOX – 1), use of high-tech, precision farming systems, as well as approaches borrows from organic farming, we can boost farm productivity substantially.
Among 8 millennium goals, eradication of poverty and hunger and environmental sustainability are perhaps the most prominent and complementary. The Green Revolution changed India from (and many other countries) from being food deficit to food sufficient / surplus state. Time is now for a new and Sustainable Revolution.
If we look at the challenge that agriculture sector has to face during the next few decades, it is clearly to double the food production by 2025 and triple it by 2050 on less per capita land, with less water and under environmentally challenging conditions.
Let us look at the current scenario and some major developments.
• Indian farmers spend nearly Rs.2 Lakh crores (1 Lakh = 100000& 1 Cr
= 10 Million) on inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides.
• Nearly Rs.50,000 crores goes as fertilizer (chemical) subsidy.
• Excessive use of chemical fertilizers in India hasreduced soil fertility and food production (Green Peace & Vishwa Bharti report – 2009). Fertilizer use efficiency is drastically declining. (It has already come down from 19 Kg food grains per kg fertilizer in mid 60s to 12 kg/kg in 2007).
• Our soils are hungrier for organic carbon. The carbon transfers and trans-formations at the soil or even the cell level can delineate the other nutrients such as N, P, S etc that become available to plants and microorganisms.

Large quantities of crop residues are produced and if properly used, they can provide cost effective means for supplying organic matter, plant nutrients and improved soil health. The highly lignocellulosic nature of crop residues indicate their potential role in maintaining soil organic matter and enriching the soils with N-rich microbial biomass resulting from decompositions. However, their indiscriminate handling often burning leads to decline in soil health, air pollution and overall loss. Since most crop residues find use as feed and fuel, efficient recycling of the remaining amount can have very significant
and positive effect.
The data regarding five major crops are shown. Even after use of some of them as animal feed they offer a great opportunity of using them back in to the soils which are hungry for organic carbon and other matters. Practice of Crop Residue Burning
The problem of collection and transport of crop residue and the short timebetween harvesting of one crop and making the farm free for the second crop has led to the harmful practices of crop residue burning. If instead of burning it, the residues can be incorporated into soils, a host of heterotrophic microorganisms bring about minor discharge of carbon and other elements contained in plant residues. A large increases in beneficial soil microbial populations and organic carbon can be achieved

Reducing the input costs in farming, especially agrochemicals and improving the yields of farm products in environmentally sustainable way, is one of the most important challenges. World over, the understanding of alternative eco-friendly inputs and intelligent integration of such products with the farming practices are the areas which need to be emphasized, understood and demonstrated. Our experience of working with farmers in different regions has convinced us that they all are looking for alternative, eco-friendly and cost effective inputs and the only way to convince them is practical demonstrations. Eco safe farming is a global challenge and needs combined efforts of NGOs and farmers bodies, private and public sector industries and scientists in the institutions and universities. There are many challenges and many success stories and some typical once are listed here.
1. POTATO IN BIHAR
Bihar Government planned a major program in 2011 – 12 for taking up large scale organic farming. A group of experts was invited to discuss and help this initiative. After a systematic planning and joint participation of the state Government, public and private sectors a package of bio inputs was prepared. The results with respect to productivity increase were extremely encouraging as reproduced from a case study paper in BOX – 1

Indian Government has several developmental programmes to promote agriculture and rural sector. It includes Drought Prone Area Program, Antodaya Programme, Integrated Rural Development Programme, Hill Area Development Programme, Desert Development Programme, Intensive Jawahar Rojgar Yojna and Employment Assurance Scheme, Indira Awaas Yojna, Integrated Waste Land Development Programme, National Food Security Mission, National Horticulture Mission, etc. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has the main focus to provide guaranteed employment for 100 days in a year to every rural household. Since 2014, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been a major initiative by the Government of India.
THE FOOD SECUR3ITY BILL
The Food Security Bill is here. Some of the salient features are
Nearly 82 crore (820 m) poor people to get food grains at highly subsidized rate, nearly 20 crore poor in urban areas and 62 crore in rural areas will be eligible to get 5 kg rice, wheat and coarse grains at Rs.3, 2 and 1 respectively. Additionally for pregnant women, there will be a provision for free food for 10 months and for children below 7 years, food will be free. There is one danger point feared in this scheme that in the long run, many farmers will stop farming and go for easier way for casual labour and take food security cover in stead of farming the low production lands. But on the other hand we should look at the solution to this keeping in mind that the Food Security Bill is here and how best we can build on our strength rather than weakness. The areas of strength to look for should be :

Normally we associate our agriculture and food supply with farms and villages. The new trends of greener cities and urban and peri urban horticulture (UPH) are emerging very fast. Towns and cities in the world’s developing countries are growing at great speed. Ten years ago, an estimated 40 percent of the developing world’s population or 2 billion people lived in urban areas. Since then, their numbers have expanded twice as fast as total population growth, to more than 2.5 billion. By 2025, more than half the developing world’s population of 3.5 billion will be urban. Again most of the world’s fastest growing cities are in Asia and Africa with young population. The concept of “Green Cities” is being discussed for environmental sustainability. However, the core principles of Greener Cities can guide urban development that ensures food security, clean environment and economic well being. Urban and peri-urban horticulture, together with eco-friendly home and public gardens and sports fields can offer a solution for a better future.
Greener Cities and Eco Agriculture
FAO’s program for UPH is major initiative and the following advantages and plans taken from FAO’s report make the reasons clear : Urban and peri-urban horticulture (or UPH) is the cultivation of a wide range of crops - including fruit, vegetables, roots, tubers and ornamental plants - within cities and towns and in their surrounding areas. It is estimated that 130 million urban residents in Africa and 230 million in Latin America engage in agriculture, mainly horticulture, to provide food for their families or to earn income from sales. The FAO program have demonstrated how horticulture helps empower the urban poor, and contributes to their food security and nutrition. But it can

Since many decades environmentalists have warned of perils of chemicalised sports grounds, golf courses and cricket fields. They warn that our health is inextricably linked to the widespread use of toxic chemicals and also complain about the non-availability of safe alternatives.
Eco-sustainable sports fields must use the methods
• That do not pollute
• That are environment-friendly and effective
• That economize on the use of water and energy
Organizations like ECOCERT have prepared guidelines for Eco-sustainable fields including guidelines to take care of soils and turf, use of water including recyclation and use of only eco-friendly and certified compost and organic fertilizers.
Typical Golf Courses are heavy users of pesticides and water. UNESCO World Water Development report found that an 18 hole golf course can use as much as 2.3 million liters of water every day. With the increasing awareness and concern about health and environment, the demand for eco-friendly sports fields are on the rise.
Phil Weaver – Chairman of the Professional Golfer Association (PGA) has stated that “we are keen to have a more environmental approach to the golf industry. I am not sure organic is totally achievable but it is a great aim”. A numerous environmental certification system have been set up for golf courses that lead the way in terms of chemical reduction there are many limitations and difficulties. Some courses are making great sides, with recycling systems, minimum or no chemical use and alternative bio inputs. In BOX – 1 & 2 such examples are given which are typical.

Irrigation status at the national level
Out of the 140 m ha of net sown area in the country, 50 m ha ia under irrigation working out to a percentage of about 35. In the different states, the net irrigation per cent varies from 12 in Mizoram to as high as 90 in Punjab. Though at national level the contribution from canal and under ground water are almost equal, yet in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa and the other North eastern states, it is predominantly canal system, while in Gujarat , Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and ground water predominates as the source. In Tamil Nadu, tank irrigation is an important irrigation source with almost Quarter of the irrigated area under this system. In the other southern states as well as in Orissa also tank system is in vogue to a considerable extent. The unscientific water use in both canal and lift irrigated commands has resulted in raising water table in the first case and fast receding ground water table in the second case. Thus, there is an imminent need for reducing the irrigation water application in agriculture with out affecting the yield and there by increasing the Water Use Efficiency (WUE) The options for increasing the water productivity/improve the WUE are discussed here.
Prevention of water losses in transportation system
Huge quantity of water is lost during the transportation of water from the source (reservoir/main canal! tank/ wells) to the field and till it reaches the root zone. Hardly 20 to 40 per cent of the water released reaches the root zone. The irrigation efficiency can be increased by the selection of proper method of irrigation along with proper design. Apart from the high evaporative and seepage losses occurring at the reservoirs and main canal, considerable amount of water is lost as seepage and evaporation in minors, distributaries, field channel etc. The losses occurring in a typical project in the alluvial plains as reported by the Second Irrigation Commission is given in table 2.

The recent earthquake in Nepal brings back memories of 26th January 2001. While the nation was busy in celebrating Republic Day, an earthquake shattered Gujarat especially Kutch and Saurashtra regions. A large number of buildings and houses collapsed within moments. Thousands were injured and many lost their lives and many more became homeless. Bhachau – Kutch soon after the earthquake in 2001 (Picture – 1) Kutch received quick responses from all over the world and a large number of individuals, institutions, government and semi-government bodies, professional experts, religious and social organizations etc. sprang into action to bring back some normalcy in the lives. However, long-term rehabilitation program based on scientific planning is most vital after such disasters. Since agriculture was the main source of livelihood of majority of Kutch people, a plan based on scientific agriculture and integration of the same with livelihood, nutritional and long term social considerations was required. It has also been observed that new and appropriate technology can be fast adopted even by small and marginal farmer women and men under such circumstances.

Bioshields offer barriers of vegetation, shrubs, small and big trees and if integrated as a well designed system they can greatly help our coastal as well as inland areas. Though primarily looked at for coastal regions, under a broader definition Bioshields can play important role in semi-desert areas, hills, etc. also.
Why Bioshield ?
Bioshields or Biobarriers can make a major contribution in minimizing the effects of storms, cyclones and Tsunamis and at the same time offer short and long term ecological and livelihood benefits.
• Bio-Shields in coastal areas include raising mangroves, casurina, palms, bamboo & other tree species and halophytes like Salicornia, etc. followed by other regular plants for the land.
• They serve as speed-breakers under conditions of coastal storms, cyclones and tsunami.
• In addition, they serve as carbon sinks, since they help to enhance carbon sequestration and sustainable fisheries and agriculture.
• Integration of Bio-shield with livelihood options and eco-restoration by developing different site specific models is therefore very important.
For example- the case of two villages near Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu is often taken. During the devastating Tsunami sometime back, the village with plantation- a natural bioshield was saved with hardly any loss of life as against a nearby village with no natural bioshield. Several such examples are available world over. This indicates that if we can have a good, scientifically designed bioshield, it can be of a great help. This concept is bound to get much greater emphasis when we consider the increasing effect and danger due to climate change in the coming years.

Rivers are the most important system for water, for irrigation and human settlement. Historically, civilizations always nucleated near rivers, and latter also had social and religious significance. Rivers in India are considered holy and play the most important part in the lives of people, fauna & flora and the future environmental system. The Ganga Basin is the largest river basin in India which includes the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Ghagra, the Gandak, the Kaveribasin etc. Compared to these, the Vishwamitri River, situated between Mahi River in North and Narmada River in South in Central Gujarat is a small seasonal river but it is very important for the city of Vadodara and Central Gujarat region. This seasonal river originates from Pavagadh hills and flows east to west. It is a typical small river with the kind of problems in most rivers in India and other countries – liquid and solid wastes, enouncements, blocking of water ways, floods in monsoon months and dry dumping basin during most other months etc.
RIVERS & THEIR REVIVAL
River basin planning and watershed management were the centerpieces of water resource planning at the dawn of the era. For most of the century, however, natural resource policies and pressures led to watershed degradation. Today, the resources value of watershed ecosystems are being rediscovered. Watershed management reflects the recognition that we can only sustain biodiversity by managing the future ecosystem.
VISHWAMITRI RIVER
In a well researched book ‘Vishwamitri Mahatmyam’ edited by Thaker of oriental Institute – Vadodara the history, glory and mythological details of the ancient river Vishwamitri has been brought out. It is said that the river

All agriculture universities have three main Directorates – Education, Research and Extension of the three, I have often observed that Extension Department comes in for maximum criticism. ‘Loose links’ and need to do much more in transfer of knowledge and technology are frequently emphasized at various levels – especially in meetings with farmers groups. This is understandable – as it is said that less than 10% - often less than 6% of lab scale knowledge and development reach the farmers fields in developing countries and even in many ‘developed’ counties. The situation is much more challenging when we consider a large population of small and marginal farmers – who as we saw can play extremely important role in eco-agriculture. A large percent of such farmers – women and men are practicing eco friendly agriculture without realizing it. Their ‘ignorance’ can be converted in to advantage and new opportunity. The age old extension practice of reaching farmers through meetings, visit , seminars, camps, demonstrations all have limitations and need to be ‘scaled up’. New developments in information and communication Technology offer a great opportunity for a big jump in reaching the unreached. Again to alarge population of ‘Green Revolution’ – there is a new hope and opportunity.
ICT in Agriculture
The potential for using ICT in agriculture can be divided broadly under two heads (1) as a tool for direct contribution to agricultural productivity and (2) as an empowering tool for the farmer to take and quality decisions. There have been several excellent examples of practical use of ICT in Agriculture and expectations are rising such that a major transformation

The Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is described as a great patriot, visionary leader and the 11th President of India ( 2002 – 2007 ). The country would have celebrated his 84th birth day on 15th October 2015. To many like me, he was the most ideal role model that the youth of India needed, in recent time. He emerged as a complete human-being who touched the lives of people. My first meeting with himwas when he visited IPCL in eighties - as the DRDO Chief to discuss about Carbon Fiber and Composites. I was heading GSFC’s R & D Centre and other facilities like engineering plastic Nylon – 6 and their Composites and hence was invited to join the discussions. That interaction left a strong impression in my mind. Later when I became Vice Chancellor of Gujarat Agricultural University, I had many more opportunities to meet him and was often surprised at his deep rooted interest and knowledge in every sphere of Science & Technology. Subsequently, to my delight, I received an invitationfrom his office on the eve of 26th January evening - at home with the President and later was given more time for a one-to-one meeting the next day. Walking across the corridors of the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, the atmosphere looked rather formal and uneasy for me, but, as I was ushered into his room, I saw Dr. Kalam wearing his favourite blue shirt and smiling. He moved forward and greeted me with the same friendliness and warmth. As we started talking about Agriculture scenario, the work I was planning and the future prospects, I marveled at his understanding and insight and left the room truly inspired. Later, I was fortunate to have many more meetings and interactions with him. In fact, during myfrequent visits to Delhi as the Chairman of National Agri Technology – nrdc, I would call at his residence in the evenings at Rajaji Marg to discuss different developments and get his guidance. It soon became clear to his efficient Secretaries to inform me in advance and arrange a meeting with him whenever he would visit Anand or Vadodara. In one such meeting at theCircuit House in Vadodara, I took my 8 year old Grand Daughteralongwith me. He enquired briefly about the progress in my work in Bio Technology and Agriculture in the first 2 minutes but later turned his entire attention to the little girl. It was amazing the way he interacted and talked with much love and

for limitation of world fresh water supply, farmland availability, salinity ingression and the pressing future need of food supply. The cultivation of salttolerant crops on saline soil and with saline waters has significant social and economic potential. It is often argued that fresh water agriculture near rivers and ponds was invented because of the need to sustain people and communities. Saline water agriculture is going to be needed for sustaining our future generations and civilization.
FROM DESALINATION OF SEA WATER TO SEA WATER AGRICULTURE
Sea water contains nearly 35000 ppm of dissolved salts. There has been great deal of interest world wide on desalination of sea and brackish water to safe drinking water. In early 1960s the young President of USA John Kennedy put forward two famous challenges for the scientists (1) Landing the man on moon and (2) Producing desalinated water at low and competitive cost. It is often said that the first challenge was met but the second one has been more difficult! With tremendous support and interest, work on desalination was taken up worldwide. Newer processes were being tried. At the Environmental Research Lab of University of Arizona and at Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar simultaneously solar powered HD (humidification – dehumidification) process of Desalination was developed and pilot plants were commissioned. It was however realized that desalinated water was costly and not easily applicable to most coastal communities, though for many countries in middle east with no alternative water source and cheap petroleum energy – it is applicable on a very large scale.

“Where is your Dhoti, Dr. Mehta ?” Dr. Varghese Kurien surprised me as I entered his office at IRMA (Institute of Rural Management Anand). That was April 2000, soon after I had taken over as the Vice Chancellor of the erstwhile Gujarat Agricultural University (GAU) and had decided to call on him during my visit to the Anand Campus. (At that time GAU was the largest University in Asia with four main campuses – Dantiwada, Anand, Junagadh and Navsari and about 65 experimental farms / stations spreaded all over). Earlier, I did have some interactions with Dr. Kurien. When at GSFC Ltd., we had introduced Nylon – 6 Engineering plastic. I had discussed with my team of Research and Application Development Engineers about multi layer packaging of dairy products where Nylon – 6 can have a good market potential which we used to discuss with Amul. Also, our work on Bio Fertilizers and Bio Pesticides had indirect interest to them. So, when suddenly I was offered the position of Vice Chancellor of GAU and was in a dilemma, I went for his advice. After all, he had held the same position earlier (in addition to AMUL). I explained about the offer and said that I was not too sure about accepting it. He, on the contrary, encouraged me to accept it saying “you can do a lot !” I just murmured,” But I am not an agriculture graduate. I am a Chemical Engineer!” To which he jokingly said – “So ?. I am a Metallurgical Engineer. And now I am a Dudhwala!”

To most of us Prof. Swaminathan was a great Scientist, humanist and true global leader. I am blessed to have been associated with Prof. Swaminathan. From a brilliant scholar to a visionary global leader, he had continuously moved to higher and higher level of achievements. The nine decades of his life can be divided in 4 phases – Brilliant & dreamy student, devoted scientist and Science Manager, a visionary and missionary solving the hunger problem and a global citizen and humanist. The vision and drive had taken him to extraordinary heights – Like Maharshi Patanjali has said in Yoga Sutra– “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary vision, all your thoughts break their bond. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great wonderful world.” Among many things, I also recollect his inspiration when I was planning GSFC Science Foundation and later the activities of Gujarat Agricultural University.

In contrast to the traditional universities, agricultural universities have been entrusted with the Herculean task of technology dissemination at the grass root level such that the package of practices evolved by the agricultural scientists should reach out the end-users, viz. farmers , for adopting in the field, with consequent increment in the farm productivity and farmer’s income. This unique mandate has been assigned to agricultural universities on the pattern of land grant colleges of the United States. Such vision and trust, envisaged by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his devout lieutenants, herald creation of state agricultural universities (SAUs) in the early 1960s. The key role played by SAUs in the first green revolution and agricultural human resources development have been regarded as the milestones in the history of India post-independence, that made the country self-sufficient in food production and, in turn, to self reliance in milk, vegetables, fruits and inland fish production. Today, India has set fourth into commanding position as a global economic power, with primary and secondary sectors, viz. agriculture and industry, contributing modestly. At the current pace of the growth rate, I would not hesitate to predict that by the year 2020, we will accomplish the top lines both in terms of productivity and sustainability, by transforming hitherto deemed liability of population into a formidable asset of human resource capital.
Hunger-free World
Agriculture is a vital development tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goals that call for halving by 2015 the number of people, suffering from extreme poverty and hunger. We also note that more than 50% of the people in the world are small and resource-poor farmers and another 20% rural land less. The challenge is to transform this

In the last several decades many international forums and institutions have discussed and agreed that food and water security are the most important issues for the future. The damage to the ecology directly affects the food, land, water, health and the livelihood. Agricultural progress serves as the best way to fight poverty, hunger and livelihood problems. Though in the last few decades, billions of pages about hunger, food and water security have been written, thousands of conferences have been organized, the urgency of action plans and creating holistic models is the most important need. For this, we must require bold reforms and action oriented programs which can reach the smallest farmers and give an optimistic signal rather than a despondent picture. Developmental models that are holistic and close to nature, sustainable and based on inclusiveness considering ‘unto the last’ women and man are the need of the day. Land and water together with biodiversity and atmosphere conditions are the foundations for sustainable food security. The ecological damage to these foundations are leading to lowering of productivity and livelihood. This will further aggregate with the threat of climate changes such as temperature, rain falls and sea level rise. As per the exercise by World Food Program, it is indicated that the green revolution states like Punjab and Haryana may become food insecure in another 20 years. Food insecurity is measure in terms of land degradation and salinization, ground water tables and green cover loss. *Based on Key Note address at Global Water Meet for Climate Change Adaptation – Agrarian Perspectives : 24 – 26 OCT. 2016 – UAS – DHARWAD – INDIA
Our Soils
The year 2015 was declared ‘ The International Year of Soil’. This is understandable. A healthy soil is key to farm productivity and healthy life (Annexure – 1). In India, out of 306 m. ha reported under various land uses,

It is well understood that the impact of climate change on agriculture and food security will be critical. The variation in climate influences the productivity of crops, livestocks and fisheries.
The major points to remember are
Climate changes are increasingly impacting agriculture and food security adversely.
Cereal productivity may decrease by 10 – 40% by 2100.
Negative effect on livestock productivity and increased disease.
Achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDG) will become more difficult.
Further, it is also estimated that : Cost of Climate Change will be equivalent of loosing 5 to 20% of GDP (N. Stern : World Bank).Sustainable Agriculture practice could absorb a third of the CO2. Globally, about 800 m $ / day is spent on direct / indirect subsidies. Among other things, it is suggested that encouraging Eco Agriculture is the way out. We must transform 1.5 b ha into Eco / Agri Farming. Small farmers to play BIG role. At the COP28 summit in Dubai, food and agriculture declaration was signed by over 130 world leaders on Sustainable Agriculture and a commitment to mobilize over $2.5 billion to tackle climate issues related to agriculture
COP and 4 per 1000 initiative
Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCC (United Nations Frame Work on Climate Change) has been making significant efforts to mitigate the adverse climate change efforts. At COP 21 in Paris, a landmark agreement was reached to combat climate change and accelerate actions for sustainable low carbon future. COP 22 at Morocco will focus on short, medium and long

Agriculture is increasingly being looked through the angle of environment and sustainability now. On global scale, the move is towards a balanced need for food production and ecological factors. Green revolution made a huge contribution for food security but now we face the following challenges.
1. Since the green revolution, land has witnessed an indiscriminate and prolonged use of chemicals and the strong need for moving away to more eco-friendly farming is felt.
2. We need to promote eco technologies which integrate the principles of ecology in technology development and dissemination. We also need to promote production and use of biological software for sustainable agriculture and food security.
Therefore, the terms like Regenerative Agriculture, Nature base solutions, Agro Ecology, Eco Agriculture, Conservation Agriculture, Organic Farming, Holistic Resource Management, Climate Smart Agriculture, Prakrutik Kheti etc etc have been gaining prominence in policy and funding spaces related to food systems. Global policy floors like the UN Food Systems Summit and the UN Climate and biodiversity conferences have used these terms as bywords for Sustainable Development. Different Names – Eco Agriculture Revolution Encompasses all ! Regenerative Agriculture is defined by many in ways that closely resemble Agro Ecology / Eco Agriculture. Broadly it describes farming, ranching and pastoral practices that stabilize our planet’s climate and carbon cycles by rehabilitating organic matter and microbial activity in the soil, thereby increasing carbon storage, retaining moisture and safeguarding bio diversity and living systems.

It is well recognized that sustainable management and sustainable livelihoods are inseparable. If neglected and if the present trends are not corrected in time, everyone’s future is threated. On the other hand, there is increasing recognition of living examples and demonstrated evidences of how the eco agricultural practices can help provide a solution to some of the major problems of today and tomorrow. Also, the main stream international agencies are emphasizing that agro-ecological approaches are the way forward. What the policy makers, farmers and people would like to know is How !it has been our experience that is most countries of the developing world the answer to ‘How’ of eco-agricultural is being demanded! In January 2016, a global team was invited by the office of Prime Minister of India to discuss and prepare an approach paper on Agro-ecology ( or Eco Agriculture including Organic farming). The team consisted of J. Fagan, Hans Harren, M.H. Mehta and A. Thimmaiah who after intensive discussions had prepared several presentations – first given to the group of top officials of Government of India departments and institutions as organized through the office of the prime minister. This was later followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Modi. During this meeting, the clear question asked was, “You need not convince us that agro ecology and organic farming are the way forward, but the question is how? How do we expand this system to national scale ?”

After the Green Revolution, it is now time for an Ever-Green Revolution based on Eco Agriculture or Agroecology. In 2018, the FAO described Agroecology/Eco Agriculture as a means to transform food and agriculture systems by addressing root causes and emphasizing the improvement of efficiency in resource use, conserving, protecting and improving livelihoods, promoting equality and well-being and enhancing the resilience of people, communities and ecosystems. A timely transition to a sustainable eco-agriculture approach is essential to protect food security, the well-being of people and farmers prosperity. Eco Agriculture is a broad term that can inclusively refer to agroecology, regenerative, organic, natural, jaivik, etc, and is increasingly being recognized as the way to help save the planet. While discussing this with Prof Swaminathan and the ICFA team, the idea of a Working Group emerged. When I was requested to form the Eco Agri Working Group through ICFA, I consulted with different sectors and tried to determine the “why” and “how” of the impending Eco Agri Revolution.
WHY
The past sixty years led to Green Revolution and alongwith that ‘success’ several adverse impacts and the changing global situation as noted in Table – 1 are the reasons for the need for an Evergreen Revolution based on Eco Agriculture

Introduction 
A broad definition of bioprocessing is the process of creating a valuable product from a live source. The system’s most important element is that the source organism is living and sensitive to its surroundings. Accordingly, the framework states that it will respond to relatively small changes in its physico-chemical environment by modifying its physiology to maximise efficiency. The use of entire cells and enzymes to catalyse bioprocesses in industrial settings is becoming more popular these days than conventional chemical synthetic methods. Among the many benefits of biotransformations in this context are their extensive substrate portfolio (including liquid, solid, and gas waste), one-pot reactions in mild circumstances and environmental friendliness. However, a number of drawbacks, including the unstable nature of biocatalysts and subpar performance in specific reaction conditions, the low solubility of some substrates in the reaction medium, substantial production expenses brought on by intricate downstream processing and product isolation and the lack of expertise in microbiology or bioprocess design, frequently make it difficult to scale up bioprocesses from the lab to the manufacturing facility. There is a growing need for innovative bioprocesses that can get over the aforementioned obstacle in industrial and environmental biotechnology in order to create effective, sustainable, and affordable processes. As a result, the industrial sector requires new methods that use biocatalysts that are highly active and stable under a variety of reaction conditions (typically accomplished through metabolic engineering), boost feedstock utilisation by using inexpensive waste resources, use green chemistry solutions that enable the use of fewer toxic solvents and reagents, or develop cost-effective biorefinery concepts that can transform industrial waste and byproducts into products with added value, thereby establishing new value chains. Figure 1.1 shows the three stages of a typical bioprocess: upstream processing, bioreaction and downstream processing which includes separation and purification steps. Every stage of these phases offers multiple chances to enhance a certain bioprocess.

Introduction
Wide range of industrially important products such as antibiotics, vitamins, enzymes, polymers, amino acids, biofuels are produced by microbes in extremely small quantities. Using microbial strains that generate an elevated amount of the intended product is a prerequisite for effective biotechnological procedures at the industrial scale. But since this isn’t an intrinsic feature of the chosen microorganism, changes to their genetic makeup may help to navigate this. Therefore, in order to overproduce the target metabolite and increase process efficiency, industrially relevant microorganisms are exposed to a range of treatments employing physical, chemical, or genetic methods. Thus, microbial strain improvement is the process of improving the biosynthetic capacities of microorganisms to generate the desired product in greater quantities.
Recycling resources and promoting sustainable development have grown in importance in recent years. Cosmetics, food, fuels, lubricants, plastics, drinks, fibres, and medications are just a few of the goods that are being biosynthesised due to the growing popularity of biological production of commercially significant metabolites (Kaur et al., 2012). The rising bioeconomy’s success hinges on our capacity to produce high-performing strains efficiently and economically. One successful strain engineering strategy is the Design–Build– Test–Learn (DBTL) framework. The strain engineering process must be viewed from the perspective of optimising the entire cycle rather than just increasing productivity at each stage, if strain development time and cost is to drastically cut down. We suggest a strategy that incorporates all four phases of the DBTL cycle and leverages the latest developments in phenotyping techniques, high-throughput genome engineering, computational design, and machine learning tools to forecast strain scale-up efficiency. By substituting sustainable alternatives made from renewable feedstock for petroleum-based products and ingredients derived from animals or wild-harvested plants, microbial biomanufacturing of chemicals, materials and biomolecules promises to lower greenhouse gas emissions, enhance land use and promote sustainability. But doing so necessitates creating reliable and effective industrial strains that can generate a variety of goods at reasonable costs. Enhancing the effectiveness of the strain engineering process is necessary to lower development cost, time in order to take advantage of market potential in all bioeconomy industries.
Over the past few decades, technical advancements in genome engineering have significantly boosted our capacity to engineer biological systems. The strain engineering process has been significantly sped and enhanced by synthetic biology methods like as genome editing using CRISPR (clustered

Introduction
The eco-friendly and commercially sustainable production has been a crucial aspect of modern commercial development. The ecologically sustainable microbial production of value-added products has seen rapid growth across multiple sectors, such as food, pharmaceuticals, and energy, resulting in notable economic benefits and social advancements on a global scale (Shi et al., 2022). The development of “omics” technologies has aided the improvement of microbial production processes through diverse omics procedures, such as genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and systems biology (Amer and Baidoo, 2021). These omics approaches give important understandings into the widespread metabolic variations, thereby identifying the factors that affect microbial production efficiency and improving the understanding of targeted optimization strategies. The integration of omics approaches is considered essential for any strategies that aim to be industrially sustainable. Industrial activities depend on the cultivation and accessibility of significantly competent microbial species to optimize bioproduct yields (Keasling, 2012). Recent progress in the industrial generation of value-added products heavily depends on strategies rooted in omics. Typically, the industry can achieve cost-effective production of limited quantities of biopharmaceuticals (Harris et al., 2015). Nevertheless, to sustainably scale up production capacities, economically feasible alternatives must be planned, standardised, and developed. Over the past few decades, microbes with enhanced abilities for superior product generation have been identified (Babar et al., 2018; Kim et al., 2015). Latest improvements in metabolic engineering have aided the manipulation of various genetic components, including coding and regulatory regions, to maximize commercial benefits (Babar et al., 2018). Genomic methodologies aim to investigate the variations among individuals at both the germline and somatic levels by sequencing specific genomes. The transition from DNA microarray technology to DNA sequencing has enabled the thorough sequencing of entire genomes, providing a detailed characterization of an organism’s genomic landscape (Dai and Shen, 2022) whereas, transcriptomics involves the analysis of mRNA, microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs. The methods used in transcriptomics are designed to identify and enumerate RNA molecules transcribed from a specific genome at a particular time. Proteomics on the other hand focuses on understanding the functional significance of all proteins expressed within a cell, tissue, or organism by examining the flow of information via protein signalling and metabolomics contributed a vital part in the development of bioprocesses by providing a comprehensive overview of metabolic activities (Horgan and Kenny, 2011; Petricoin et al., 2002). Synthetic biology contributes a vital part in the production of high-performance strains for microbial manufacturing. A variety of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, and microalgae can be employed in microbial production. However, synthetic biology methods primarily emphasis on the balanced blueprint of biosynthetic metabolisms for target outcome, as well as the creation and standardisation of these pathways and the heterologous production of the biosynthetic components (Wan et al., 2023). These approaches include the optimisation of fermentation process, optimisation of medium composition, scale up of fermentation, optimization of cell growth for manufacture of desired product, and strategies to decrease feedback inhibition and product toxicity (Figure 3.1) (Wan et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2022).

4.1 Introduction
4.1.1 Overview of Genomics in Biotechnology
The genome of an organism serves as the ‘blueprint of life’ (Baeza, 2024) and functions as an information repository (Goldman & Landweber, 2016), containing the necessary information for the synthesis of molecules, cells, and tissues (Abera et al., 2017). A study of the entire collection of genes within an organism’s genome is known as genomics (NIH, 2022; WHO, 2025). Genomics encompasses aspects of genetics, focusing on the comprehensive characterization of an organism’s entire set of genes rather than on individual genes (Baeza, 2024). The investigation of living organisms has undergone a transformation through the application of genomics and related fields, providing unique insights that enhance various applications aimed at improving human life, economic conditions (Kalaitzandonakes et al., 2023), and environmental sustainability (Mudaliar et al., 2023).
According to a genomic analysis, 80% of the 6,000 rare disorders have genetic causes (Brittain et al., 2017). Cancer, a genetic disease, has revealed through DNA sequencing the mutational events and oncogenic drivers (D. Wang et al., 2023). Genomic tests contribute significantly to the prediction and prevention of diseases, including familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) (Brittain et al., 2017). Agricultural industries are currently confronting multiple challenges, including global changes in climate (Bai et al., 2024), growing populations (Putri et al., 2019), resource depletion (Feng et al., 2023), reduction of cultivable land (Mirzabaev et al., 2023), and the prevalence of pathogens (Hossain & Roslan, 2023). Advances in genomic technologies, such as DNA sequencing and gene editing, have transformed the field. DNA sequencing includes; Nextgeneration sequencing (NGS) (Marudamuthu et al., 2023), Ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-seq) (Upton et al., 2023), whereas, gene editing methods includes; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat- CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/ Cas9) (Q. Liu et al., 2021), Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENS) Zinc-finger nucleases (ZNF) (Malzahn et al., 2017) and Oligonucleotide directed mutagenesis (ODM) (Ravikiran et al., 2025) as well as doubled haploids (Chen et al., 2024), molecular markers (Kumar et al., 2024) and mapping populations (Temesgen, 2021), offers potential solutions against such agricultural challenges (Hossain & Roslan, 2023). Genome sequencing techniques are applied to various fields of industrial biotechnology such as; strain development or improvement (Salazar-Cerezo et al., 2023), enzyme discovery (Zaparucha et al., 2018) and analysis of microbial community (Hosokawa et al., 2022). The potential to enhance microbial strains through the incorporation, deletion, or alteration of

5.1 Introduction
Bioprocess engineering is becoming more advanced form of technology due to the many changes taking place in the field. The world is in dire need for creative, well thought out, and innovative approaches to problems associated with sustainable biomanufacturing, treatment customization, and the production of bio-based goods. One of the most notable advancements is the rise of synthetic biology, which allows for bioproduction at unprecedented levels where microbes could be modified for better bioproduction. More traditional approaches is strain improvement and metabolic engineering, which revolve around mutation-based processes and other forms of gene transfer technologies. The applications of new, non-traditional methods such as machine learning and artificial intelligence have completely revolutionized the way bioprocessing and its monitoring, as well as optimization, is done. On top of that, the drive towards sustainability has further motivated the use of green bioprocessing techniques which aim to minimize environmental harm. In parallel with these advances, regenerative medicine and gene treatment is opening doors to a new era of personalized medicine. In a world where change is constant, these accomplishments and innovations help us to take full advantage of what bioprocess engineering has to offer, as well as face the intricate challenges that the modern world encounters (Awasthi, 2022). In recent years, the field of biotechnology has undergone transformative and profound change that is marked by new breakthroughs and improvement which can affect several fields such as medicine, agriculture, and ecology. The emergence of tools like CRISPR-Cas9, synthetic biology, bioprinting, precision medicine and regenerative medicine are some of the new trends in biotechnology. These changes are recognizing the limits on the biological sciences and expanding them at the same time. Synthetic biology is another technology that includes the strategy and production of new genomic parts, related tools, and re-designs of traditional ones for valuable purposes. The scientists are modifying living organisms to perform useful functions like manufacturing biofuels or pharmaceuticals. Synthetic biology raises concerns about biosecurity and the unintentional release of artificial organisms into the environment, despite its enormous potential to address global challenges like renewable energy and sustainable resource usage (Jain, 2022). This article introduces advancements in bioprocess engineering with specific focus on advancements brought about by emergence of CRISPR. Bioprocess engineering is the application of process engineering principles to biological systems and has been a multidisciplinary field unto itself. Since its isolation as a groundbreaking genome-editing system, CRISPR has vastly improved the precision, efficiency, and scalability of both microbial and mammalian cell manipulation. This has resulted in numerous breakthroughs in pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and industrial enzymes, a major milestone for synthetic biology, and metabolic engineering (Jinek et al., 2012). The CRISPR revolution has changed

6.1 Introduction 
Lignocellulosic Biomass (LCB) generated from the global consumption of fruit and vegetables rapidly generates approximately 140 billion metric tons of agricultural waste. Environmental pollution associated with these wastes, like land pollution, and increased greenhouse gas emissions, can be reduced through the bioconversion of wastes (renewable biomass resources) into value-added products in biorefineries (Babu et al., 2022). These value-added products synthesized for utilization in industries such as biofuels, biomaterials, or biochemicals are effective, reuseable, and enhance sustainability. These bioproducts are recuperated into useful biomolecules and oils for the food industries and dyes for the textile industries. The sustainability of these products can be acquired efficiently through costeffective pretreatments and bioprocess optimization methods (Haldar et al., 2020). The initial stage of value product chain development is the process modelling and optimizing, which, due to its complex nature and large scale, faces challenges in raw material availability, cost competitiveness, upscaling, and lack of technological maturity (Gerassimidou et al., 2021). Optimization of production processes like fermentation and chemical synthesis for manufacturing value-added products has become a focal point in research enhancement of biorefineries. There has been a revolution in the technology used in process designing and manufacturing practices in biorefineries. Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based approaches like Genetic Algorithm (GA), Fuzzy Inference System (FIS), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) are being utilized along with conventional tools to optimize variables interacting in production processes. These techniques increase overall efficiency and enhance prediction accuracy and output of value-added products (Banerjee et al., 2025). Optimization of the bio processes enables higher productivity in parallel with lower environmental burdens. AI-based approaches integrated with conventional approaches need a large amount of experimental historical data to be successfully carried out (Arias et al., 2023). Advancement of biorefineries due to the rapid demand of value-added products as well as a solution to the greenhouse emissions, the integrated application of AI for process analysis needs to be understood. This chapter is a contribution towards upscaling the current knowledge base related to different approaches for the enhancement of production for value-added products. The chapter discusses the conventional techniques for value-added production and various optimization models. There is further discussion of advancements in the traditional approach using AI-based approaches and their features and benefits in biorefinery. Apart from different AI-based models, AI integrated with life cycle analysis for sustainability is also briefed. Finally, the chapter addresses current limitations in the field and outlines potential future directions for research and development.

7.1 Introduction 
The global economy of today magnifies the extend and scope of product safety issues for a wide range of items, from food and medicine to consumer goods, medical devices, and automobiles (Marucheck et al., 2011). Industrial globalization has raised awareness of the many risks and vulnerabilities that goods face as they move through the supply chain, from design and sourcing to manufacturing, shipping, distribution, and ultimate sale to the end user (Milovanovi? et al., 2017). These challenges necessitate the implementation of reliable and sustainable methods for producing goods. This can be achieved via biorefineries, which may reduce supply chain disruptions while promoting environmentally friendly resource utilization. Biorefineries are usually referred to as first and second generation biorefineries with accordance to the raw material utilized. The former uses food crop as raw material wherein the latter utilizes lignocellulosic and agricultural residues as raw material for generation of value-added products (Guo et al., 2015). Additionally, algae biomass is utilized in the third generation biorefineries (Parajuli et al., 2015). However, among these three the first generation are the most established while the second and third are still developing at various stages due to technical and economic challenges (Gerssen-Gondelach et al., 2014). Globally, ethanol biorefinery processing U.S. corn and Brazilian sugarcane dominate production contributing 52% and 28%, respectively (Renewable Fuels Association, 2023). These biorefineries are further distinguished based on categories such as sugars, oils and syngas which serve as key intermediates in production of bioethanol, glycerol or lactic acid (Calvo-Flores and Martin- Martinez, 2022). Additionally, these biorefineries utilizes feedstock and residues which can be derived from forest, sugar crops and oil crops. The processing technologies employing for utilization of such raw material are fermentation, gasification and pyrolysis. This configuration of biorefinery determines the integration and systematic pathway from raw feedstock to final product (Aristizábal?Marulanda et al., 2019). Furthermore, both the supply chain and value chain are significant part of biorefineries. The value chain stands for the value-oriented aspect of the process which is often derived by customer demand and include product innovation, marketing and value development (Sharma et al., 2013). In contrast, the supply chain focuses on the logistical flow of materials, encompassing the movement of raw materials from suppliers to end consumers. However, certain stages of supply chain overlap with biorefinery systems such as separate pretreatment and fermentation facilities (Sutduean et al., 2019). The design of biorefinery system involves a structural decision process at strategic, tactical and operational levels. These decisions are made with respect to various biohazards at each level. The macro-level strategic decisions, address long-term risk mitigating strategies to ensure overall safety (Chaturvedi et al., 2020). Once the high-level decisions are established, tactical and operational decisions are implemented. The tactical decisions focus on implementing safety measures with processes such as handling hazardous materials and optimizing biorefinery. While

8.1 Introduction
The increasing rate of waste generation due to consumption patterns has emerged as a significant environmental management challenge. The valorization of this waste hold great potential in production of bio-based products, provided they meet the multi-criteria of environmental sustainability and economic viability (Dragone et al., 2020). Within this framework, the advancement of biorefineries is considered to be a valuable strategy. These transform lignocellulosic biomass to valuable bio-based products including biofuels and biobased chemicals which promote circular economy (Mariana et al., 2021). The incorporation of biorefineries into the market value chain necessitates the establishment of production framework which aims high recovery and generation of value-added products from biomass (Meramo- Hurtado and González-Delgado, 2019). However, the upscaling of these biorefineries faces various challenges such as process efficiency and technological advancement. Additionally, the largescale operation of biorefineries requires consistent and stable biomass supply. Addressing these challenges require technological advancements and policy framework (Makepa and Chihobo, 2024). These could ensure the economic viability and profitability of biorefineries which is essential for their successful implementation in long-term sustainability goals (Arias et al., 2023). In this context, the early-stage evaluation comprises production capacity, market demand, technological limitations and environmental impact.
8.2 Challenges in Upscaling of Biorefineries
For fulfillment of the global demand for bio-based products it is important to upscale biorefineries from laboratory to industrial scale. Biorefineries are closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as several SDGs emphasize the efficient and circular utilization of resources to promote sustainability. Additionally, SDSs promotes adoption of practices which encourage climate change mitigation, economic growth, societal well-being and advancements in research and innovations (Lange et al., 2021). However, the establishment of biorefineries faces various technical challenges similar to those encountered in conventional refinery plants. These challenges arise primarily due to the large volume of biomass required for processing to achieve industrial scale production of bioproducts (Ahmed et al., 2023).

9.1 Introduction 
Biochemical technology focuses on developing sustainable conversion of renewable materials like lignocellulosic wastes into value-added products with reduced emissions. The utilization of integrated bioprocess engineering for transforming carbon sources into diverse biotechnological products via microbial cells is an emerging field (Pais et al., 2016). Bioprocess engineering is a collection of thermodynamics, process simulation, bio-separations, microbiology, bioprocess kinetics, and systems engineering aiming for biomass conversion, biocatalysis-driven processing methods, and microbial processes. These processes can range from microscale to large-scale designs and systems (Liu et al., 2016) and generate value-added products such as biofuels like bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas (Patel et al., 2022); in pharmaceuticals (Tsopanoglou et al., 2021), probiotics (Lei et al., 2024), textiles (Bahtiyar et al., 2021), bioplastics, and biopolymers (Pathom-aree et al., 2024). Reactor design, fermentation, kinetics, and optimization are integral to bioprocess engineering. Not always but the pretreatment methods for lignocellulosic waste and its improvement should be considered for an optimized bioprocess engineering as they are the carbon source during fermentation. Pretreatment methods are physical, chemical, biological, or hybrid of any three treatments used to acquire desired products. Cost-effective and relatively slow biological pretreatment needs microorganisms to convert lignocellulosic waste into useful desired products (Abo et al., 2019). Chemical pretreatment utilizes harsh chemicals to increase biomass degradation, porosity, and solid separation but unfortunately are rarely used due to the harmful effects (Arora et al., 2018). Physical pretreatment methods utilize mechanical pressure to break down biomass but are expensive and irregular. Pretreatment for source and strain acquisition is the initial step of upstream bioprocessing followed by reaction conditions and bioreactor design (John et al., 2020). The primary part of any upstream process is to produce the desired product like enzyme followed downstream processing such as purification of the value-added product. The value-added products are developed via fermentation in equipment known as Bioreactors. Different bioreactors being utilized recently in bioprocess engineering and biorefinery are membrane bioreactors that offer high productivity, low environmental impact, and high flexibility (Akkoyunlu et al., 2024); airlift bioreactors (Hernández- Acevedo et al., 2024); fixed bed/packed bed and fluidized bed bioreactors are being utilized for their potential of reduced expenses, simpler design, enhanced temperature regulation and homogenous mixing (Srivastava et al., 2022) (Figure 10.1). Despite their high production and safety, the traditional large-scale stainless-steel vessels batch-wise are often expensive, inflexible, and have long construction times. As an alternative to the costly route, single-use equipment was introduced. Since they are pre-sterilized and are readily accessible to purchase as needed, this disposal method offers great flexibility and lower investment costs by eliminating the need for sterilization. However, there is high waste generation leading to a dent in sustainability and circular bioeconomy (Frank, 2018). The transformative step of the production system shifting from batchwise to continuous production has ultimately led to a decreased environmental footprint and prices and increased product quality and yield (Gerstweiler et al., 2021). The cost of bioprocess engineering (upstream and downstream) is dependent on factors such as types of feedstocks, fermentation types like submerged and solid-state, product types, and microbe or enzyme types (Kumar

1.1. Introduction
The terms ‘counselling’ and ‘health promotion’ complement each other when it becomes a matter of an individual’s health. Health promotion is a part of behavioural social science that aims to change the systemic strategies adopted by the individual or group or by the mass community for the betterment of their health which can be achieved by talk therapy known as counselling. In the 21st century, from childhood to adulthood, all people are in a ‘rat race’ for their careers and necessities, which is one of the main reasons for stress generation. Not only that, chemical substances consumed by different food ingredients as food additives, preservatives, etc. but also induce oxidative stress and damage the functional activity of cells, tissues, organs, and systems. This ‘stress’ is a major culprit not only for the deterioration of physical health but also psychological health. Such stress imposition in daily life impairs normal physiological functions, skills, performance, and productivity. Unhealthy food, life, and work styles are also linked to the onset of pathophysiological complications that counselling and health promotion are required to overcome. Besides this, for sportsmen, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and growing children, nutritional counselling and health promotion are indisputable. For disease prevention and early recovery from disease, dietary counselling plays an immense role.
1.2. Counselling
Counselling is an intermittent, interpersonal interviewing process where the counsellor gives advice or suggestions to the client but never gives any direction. Counsellors assist the client in thinking, analysing, and acting to improve their insight power. The counsellor focuses on both the positive and negative sides of a particular event and allows the client to think and rethink its acceptability and unacceptability.

2.1. Introduction
The present century is the century of oxidative stress (OS) that linked to several life-threatening disorders which predominantly affect public health as well as their nutritional status. Unhealthy lifestyle and eating pattern which is major concern for OS. The biological literature first used the phrase “oxidative stress (OS)” in 1970. OS can be defined as a state of imbalance condition between the high level of pro-oxidants and the low level of antioxidant scavenging capacity in the body. The normal oxidative process that occurs in cells is crucial for the existence of life and favours the death of a cell. Free radicals, which are unstable, can form when molecular oxygen breaks up into pairs. This unstable radical has a high level of reactivity and produces reactive molecular species like reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). To resist the OS and to maintain the redox balance, cells have an inbuilt antioxidant defence capacity, comprising of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPOD) etc. But some pathogenic or environmental conditions may overpower this antioxidant defence system, allowing a portion of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) to bypass degradation and create much more reactive radicals. Increased ROS and RNS affect redox balance and damage DNA, proteins, amino acids, and fats, causing alteration of structures as well as action of cells and tissues. This will ultimately produce several pathogenetic elements associated with clinical situations and leads to the development of human aging and numerous diseases. Several dietary components such as whole grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables are excellent sources of antioxidative vitamins, minerals, nutraceuticals or phytoceuticals that shields the human body from the harmful oxidative injury by scavenging or destruction of free radicals and also by upregulation of endogenous antioxidant defence system. Thereby long-term and sustainable OS remedies can be performed.

3.1. Introduction
Sports nutrition is one of the areas of nutrition that closely coordinates with human anatomy research and the science of sports. The application of nutrition science to a practical daily eating plan intended to optimise the performance of athletes in competitive events, speed up the healing and reconstruction process following intense physical activity, and supply the energy for physical activity is known as sports nutrition. It also seeks to promote wellness and general health. Nutrition is strongly connected to fitness, specifically whilst sports activities are involved. It is necessary to recognize the physiology of the workout on the way to recognizing the specific metabolic pathways that coexist in the course of sports activities practice (O’Donoghue, 2014). Three things are necessary for athletic success: genetic endowments, level of training, and nutrition. It is impossible to change one’s genetic makeup. The most efficient method for enhancing athletic performance is specialized exercise training, and any kind of workout regimen must include adequate nutrition. The dietary requirements of athletes and workout aficionados are different from those of physically inactive people due to variations in their calorie needs as well as macro- and micro- nutrient needs. To achieve peak athletic performance, it is crucial to investigate and evaluate the dietary requirements of athletes prior to, during, and following the contest (Cotugnae et al., 2005). Exercises that improve one’s heart health involve swimming, jogging, and climbing. Other exercises that improve one’s flexibility, power, and endurance of muscles involve stretching and hard training with resistance. For example, if someone decides to choose to lose excess fat and to do so, they would design a regular exercise routine that incorporates all of the above-mentioned elements, as well as choosing more nutritious foods in the diet to meet the higher demands to endeavors. Athletic performance requires sports-related abilities. These neuromotor skills, such as balancing, pace, power, durability, stamina, agility, and execution, are particular to sports.

4.1. Introduction
The food is the main factor known to affect the health of an individual. By interference in the protein synthesis, function and metabolites and alteration in genome expression, the healthy condition must be altered to diseased condition. Side by side we can say that the dietary component directly or indirectly modulates the molecular fingerprint and understanding of which is dealt with nutrigenomics. So, by modulation of a particular gene for a specific disease by nutrition, we can prevent the specific disease and promote the health of a population. Consuming fruits and vegetables on a regular basis has been linked to better health outcomes and diminution of several chronic or life style linked diseases.
Concept of Nutritional Genomics
After completion of human genome sequencing, the unique term “Nutritional genomics” tends to replace the old term “Nutrient-gene interaction”. It has been stated that so many polymorphism can influence protein structure and function. There are several regulatory sites where nutrients can impact the flow of genetic information. The two components of the nutritional genomics field are nutrigenomics, which studies how dietary components interact with the genome to regulate changes in proteins and other metabolism, and nutrigenetics, which determines how dietary components affect genetic variations. (Farhud et al., 2010). Nutrients are as environmental influences can interact with genetic material. It is commonly known that DNA metabolism and repair require a range of dietary elements that serve as cofactors or substrates in metabolic pathways. However, little is known about how cofactors and/or micronutrient excess or deficiency affect the accuracy of DNA replication and repair (Caroline and Fenech, 2008). The response to a particular nutrient, which is determined by the individual genotype, must also be taken into consideration, even though the nutrients can influence the development of a particular phenotypic.

5.1. Introduction
The people of every nation would be healthier if they adopted healthier lifestyles. A Good nutrition, daily exercise and proper sleep are the base of healthy living. A healthy lifestyle denoted by fit, energetic and at minimize possibility for disease. According to WHO, Healthy living is a way of living that helps you enjoy more aspects of your life. It is a way of living that lowers the risk of being seriously ill or dying early. Health is not just about avoiding a disease or illness.
5.2. Concept of Health
According to WHO, Health is the state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely absence of disease or infirmity. The holistic approach of health is the individual’s health and lifestyle considering all four factors, physical, intellectual, emotional and social. It concern about the whole body and mind not just a part of the body and the symptoms of the problem. It will look at the lifestyle of the individual such as nutritional deficiencies, reason of stress and why there is a lack of good health and wellbeing. A holistic approach will engage the individual taking responsibility for their health and well-being. They do this by educating themselves and being active in maintaining and improving their health and well-being.
5.2.1. Positive Health
Positive Health is the scientific study of health assets. A “health asset” is a factor that construct stronger health, over and above risk factors for disease. Positive Health works to find which specific health assets produce longer, healthy life, and which health assets lower disease risk and health care costs. The aim is to strive for optimal health —beyond the mere absence of illness.

6.1. Introduction
The best way to combat malnutrition globally among women and children have changed over the last few years keeping pace with the advancement of technology. Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become very important for solving the contemporary nutrition related issues because they provide a vast array of new communication capabilities. In addition to meeting society’s actual needs for ongoing health and nutrition care, ICTs are crucial for facilitating interactive, personalized nutrition communication. People can interact or communicate with others in different countries in real-time through instant messaging, video conferencing or voice over IP (internet protocol). Through social networking platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others, people from all over the world can regularly converse and stay in touch. In the context of health communication, ICT is referred to as Interactive Health Communication (IHC), which is the exchange of health information and advice and support regarding health-related matters between a consumer, patient, caregiver, or professional using an electronic device or communication technology. Nutrition treatments are less expensive when face-to-face interaction is facilitated by electronic means. These are complementary factors that encourage nutrition communication in an information-age healthcare system, especially when combined with consumers’ growing desire to take charge of their own health. Customers can advantageously use information technology in this system to connect with health professionals and support groups, obtain absolutely relevant information, and take charge of their own health. The “global village,” which has been made possible by modern information and communication technology, allows people to interact with each other virtually as if they were neighbours. Because of this, ICT is frequently examined in relation to the ways that contemporary communication technologies influence society.

7.1. Introduction
Entrepreneurs serve as the catalysts for the introduction of innovative technologies and systems that ultimately lead to societal advancements. These innovations are linked to enhanced lifestyles, progressive thinking, morale, and bravery, along with an improved standard of living. National and global changes are greatly influenced by such kinds of social change. Joseph Schumpeter, an Australian famous economist, is referred to as the father of entrepreneurship. Dhirubhai Ambani was the most enterprising Indian entrepreneur. Jamsetji Tata set a bar for entrepreneurship development in India with the foundation of the Tata group. The father of entrepreneurship in India is Ratan Tata. In public health, nutrition-based entrepreneurship and self-employment are also another emerging topic nowadays. Several entrepreneurs are found in this field mostly due to the challenge of building a business and craving to control their destiny. Not only that, financial independence, personal satisfaction, relief from the frustration of working for someone else, and the opportunity to create the desired lifestyle. Nutrition entrepreneurship offers numerous business-related resources and provides services for social well-being. As for example, the transformation of raw food ingredients into consumable food products, entrepreneurship plays a key role in diversifying and commercializing agricultural products. It adds value of food, prolongs its shelf life, promotes the export of processed items, generates employment opportunities, boosts farmers’ earnings, and makes a significant contribution to the general development of rural areas. Health entrepreneurs like nutritionists, dietitians, physicians, and health counsellors run their practice and make it available for the client to listen to their problems and solve their problems through mental support, motivation, diet therapy, medication, and so on. As a result, the health burdens due to noncommunicable and communicable diseases are reduced.

8.1. Introduction
Micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, and nutraceuticals that do not provide energy and do not raise any sensation of hunger known as “hidden hunger” or “insensible hunger”. Hidden hunger that causes micronutrient deficiency affects 2 billion people globally. Due to the deficiency of micronutrients, different diseases are noted among public health professionals that reflect poor community nutrition. To overcome these deficiency-related diseases, one of the important approaches is food fortification. Food fortification is a public health policy to reduce the number of individuals, who suffer from micronutrient deficiencies within a population. Common examples include iodine-tagged common salt, vitamin A-containing oil, and iron-enriched rice all of which are examples of food fortification. In the agricultural field, food fortification (FF) and/or food enrichment (FE) is the most efficient strategy to overcome various micronutrient deficiencies by the addition of essential micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to enhance the nutritional value of cultivated crops. According to World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), “Food fortification” is defined as “the practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient, i.e., vitamins and minerals (including trace elements) in a food irrespective of whether the nutrients were originally in the food before processing or not, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and to provide a public health benefit with minimum risk to health” (Pant and Chinwan, 2014). “Fortificant” refers to the incorporation of substances in the food to provide micronutrients. “Micronutrients” refers to the important dietary components, including vitamins and minerals, that are required in very small amounts but are engaged in very critical roles in various body functions and disease prevention.

9.1. Introduction
The three basic need for human survival are- food, clothing and shelter. The requirement of food comes first. Human are omnivorous. They eat mainly natural foods. Before 5000 years ago, cereals were the main food for all civilization and then the complexity of life began to make appearing with the advent of industrialization, flourishing of industry and commerce. Unpolished grains were utilised at first, but in contemporary civilisation, we have begun to prepare them, which results in the loss of essential nutrients. The intake of meats, processed meals, and sugary goods has grown while the general intake of cereals has decreased. People now lack vital nutrients as a result of the departure from natural diets. People began to realise a few years ago that health is a significant concern in addition to flavour, convenience, and quality value. They have thus begun taking nutritional vitamin supplements to make up for the nutrients lost from processed meals. People are increasingly opting for natural nutraceuticals in capsules and tablets, a trend known as medicalization in nutrition, instead of relying on natural food items. Hippocrates emphasized the connection between food and medicine, stating that healthy foods has a strong therapeutic advantages. The ancient Indian medical system known as Ayurveda places a strong focus on the functioning of diet and nutraceuticals in both health and illness.
9.2. What are Nutraceuticals
Stephen De Felice, the founder and chief executive of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine (FIM), first used the term “nutraceuticals” in 1989 to refer to the broad category of medicines and nutrition. Nutraceuticals are foods or dietary components that not only offer nourishment and energy but also significantly contribute to regulating and preserving the regular physiological processes that keep people healthy. Nutraceuticals included processed meals such as cereal-grains, soups or stews, genetically engineered foodstuffs, herbal items, nutritional supplements, and extracted nutrients. People are increasingly concerned about their healthy wellbeing these days. However, these include a hectic, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating patterns, body image issues, and being afflicted by a number of illnesses. These are the factors driving the global nutraceutical market’s expansion and generating a lot of interest. Numerous health issues of the century, including cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, inflammation, oxidative stress, constipation, and more, can be fought off with the use of these nutraceuticals. Overall, nutraceuticals bring an entirely novel phase in medical science and assist the food companies to promote more creative research strategies. (Dudeja and Gupta, 2017)).

Therapeutic Aspects of Drug-nutrient Interactions
Drug-nutrient interactions are expressed as physical, chemical, and pathophysiological relationships between a drug and a nutrient. This reaction is multifactorial. The drug has the potential ability to interact with nutrients which may lead to a reduction or enhancement of therapeutic efficacy, nutritional risk, and drug toxicity. Even such interactions lead to the discontinuation of drug therapy. But these kinds of interactions vary from person to person. Infants and children are the most vulnerable group in this concern as they are in the developmental phase where there is a lack of proper drug-metabolizing enzymes and inefficient renal function. Generally, DNIs signify negative impacts on human health but sometimes these interactions work in a positive way by reducing irritation in the GI tract or by increasing the absorption of drugs. Proper updated knowledge about DNIs is important for the appliance of diet therapy simultaneously with drug therapy as both of these are important strategies to manage or treat public health issues (Table 10.1., Table 10.2.).