DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 29 -- THE next business opportunity in agricultural sector may lie beyond the farm gate, where crop residues and agro-processing by-products are increasingly being viewed not as waste, but as feedstock for new businesses and industries.

Millions of tonnes of materials from cassava peels and rice husks to maize cobs, sugarcane bagasse and coffee-processing waste are being explored for use in fertiliser, animal feed, energy, biochar and other industrial products.

That shift is opening a new commercial frontier, with biotechnology and innovation offering ways to convert agricultural leftovers into marketable products while creating additional revenue streams for farmers, processors and entrepreneurs.

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