Bio-based materials and circular agricultural landscapes

Overview & partnership context

Agrecir Global partners with Built by Nature to champion regenerative, bio-based materials: diverting agricultural crop residues away from polluting field burning and into high-value circular construction and packaging.

Every year, hundreds of millions of tonnes of agricultural residues—such as rice straw, cotton stalks, and bagasse—are burned directly in open fields across South Asia, generating suffocating seasonal smog, severe public health crises, and massive carbon emissions.

Built by Nature is a global network and grant-making platform dedicated to transforming the built environment through bio-based materials that work in harmony with nature. Agrecir Global partners with Built by Nature to demonstrate that agricultural residues are not waste to be burned, but valuable raw materials for circular industries.

Key areas of collaboration

• Crop residue diversion from field burningEstablishing collection and baling networks for cotton stalks and rice straw, ending open-field burning and cutting regional air pollution.
• Bio-based construction and fiber inputsSupplying vetted agricultural bi-products to manufacturers producing carbon-storing acoustic panels, fiberboards, and biocomposites.
• Regenerative landscape stewardshipAdvancing holistic land management that balances food and textile production with long-term ecosystem restoration and biodiversity corridors.
• Farmer income from crop residuesCreating a direct secondary income stream for smallholders who sell baled residues that were previously considered a costly disposal nuisance.

Deliverables and fieldwork impact

Tangible reduction in seasonal smog emissions, creation of new circular rural revenue streams, and integration of agricultural supply chains with global bio-materials innovation.