Agro-wastes are derived from diverse sources including grape pomace, tomato pomace, pineapple, orange, and lemon peels, sugarcane bagasse, rice husks, wheat straw, and palm oil fibers, among other affordable and commonly available materials. The carbon-rich precursors are used in the production bio-based polymers through microbial, biopolymer blending, and chemical methods. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 20–30% of fruits and vegetables are discarded as waste during post-harvest handling. The development of bio-based polymers is essential, considering the scale of global environmental pollution that is directly linked to the production of synthetic plastics such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PET). Globally, 400 million tons of synthetic plastics are produced each year, and less than 9% are recycled. The optical, mechanical, and chemical properties such as ultraviolet (UV) absorbance, tensile strength, and water permeability are influenced by the synthetic route. The production of bio-based polymers from renewable sources and microbial synthesis are scalable, facile, and pose a minimal impact on the environment compared to chemical synthesis methods that rely on alkali and acid treatment or co-polymer blending. Despite the development of advanced synthetic methods and the application of biofilms in smart/intelligent food packaging, construction, exclusion nets, and medicine, commercial production is limited by cost, the economics of production, useful life, and biodegradation concerns, and the availability of adequate agro-wastes. New and cost-effective production techniques are critical to facilitate the commercial production of bio-based polymers and the replacement of synthetic polymers.

The construction sector, in modern times, is faced by a myriad of challenges primarily due to the increase in the urban population and dwindling natural resources that facilitate the production of construction materials. Furthermore, higher awareness on climate change is forcing companies to rethink their strategies in developing more sustainable construction materials. Diverse types of agro-waste ranging from rice husk ash (RHA), sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA), and bamboo leaves ash (BLA) among others have been identified as potent solutions in the development of sustainable construction materials. In this review paper, six different construction materials, made using agro-waste products, are examined. The materials include brick/masonry elements, green concrete, insulation materials for buildings, reinforcement materials for buildings, particleboards, and bio-based plastics. The main criterion adopted in selecting the materials regards their popularity and wide-scale use in modern construction applications. Additionally, as this research emphasizes identifying alternative approaches to develop sustainable construction materials, the focus is directed toward mainstream materials whose continued use has an adverse impact on the environment. The findings obtained from the review showed that the use of agro-waste to develop sustainable construction materials was effective, as the developed materials adhered to established building standards. Therefore, this indicates that agro-waste materials have the potential to replace conventional construction materials and hence achieve economic, environmental, and social sustainability in the long run.

Resource management in agriculture is considered a pivotal issue because greenhouse farming and agriculture-related activities generate about 10–29% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The problem of high greenhouse gas emissions is still unresolved due to the rapid expansion of arable land to meet global food demand. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to generate new perspectives and insights regarding the development of resource management and optimized environments in greenhouses, thereby lowering energy requirements and CO₂ emissions. This review sought to answer what technologies and inventions could be used to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions through efficient energy-saving mechanisms while considering their technical and economic viability. The synthesis of the findings led to several themes which included energy-saving techniques for greenhouses, systems that reduced unfavorable external conditions and renewable energy systems. Other themes identified regarded energy storage systems, systems for managing conditions in greenhouses, carbon capture and storage, and factors influencing the performance of different technologies to enhance resource management and ensure zero carbon emissions. The findings also revealed various technologies used in the design of energy-saving techniques in greenhouses including proportional–integral–derivatives (PID), fuzzy, artificial neural networks, and other intelligent algorithms. Additionally, technologies that were a combination of these algorithms were also examined. The systems that reduced unfavorable external conditions included the use of insulation panels and intelligent shading systems. Greenhouse covers were also optimized by smart glass systems, sensors, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Renewable energy systems included PV (solar) panels, wind turbines, and geothermal electricity. Some of the thermal energy storage systems widely studied in recent research included underground thermal energy storage (UTES) (for seasonal storage), phase-change materials (PCMs), and water tanks, which are used to address short-term shortages and peak loads. The adoption of the various technologies to achieve the above purposes was constrained by the fact that there was no isolated technology that could enable agricultural producers to achieve zero energy, zero emissions, and optimal resource utilization in the short term. Future research studies should establish whether it is economical for large agricultural companies to install smart glass systems and infrastructure for slow fertilizer release and carbon capture in greenhouse structures to offset the carbon footprint.

This article presents the current state-of-the-art research on applying artificial intelligence (AI) technology in smart greenhouses to optimize crop yields, water, and fertilizer use efficiency, to reduce pest and disease, and to enhance agricultural sustainability. The key technologies of interest were robotic systems for pesticide application, irrigation, harvesting, bio-inspired algorithms for the automation of greenhouse processes, energy management, machine path planning and operation of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), resolution of scheduling problems, and image signal processing for pest and disease diagnosis. Additionally, the review investigated the cost benefits of various energy-management and AI-based energy-saving technologies, the integration of photovoltaics and dynamic pricing based on real-time and time-of-use metrics, and the cost benefits of LoRa, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, mobile, and RFID (radiofrequency identification) technologies. The review established that commercially viable AI technologies for agriculture had increased exponentially. For example, AI-based irrigation and soil fertilizer application enabled farmers to realize higher returns on investment on fertilizer application and gross returns above the fertilizer cost, higher yields, and resource use efficiency. Similarly, AI image detection techniques led to the early diagnosis of powdery mildew. The precise operation of agricultural robots was supported by the integration of light imaging, detection, and ranging (LIDAR) optical and electro-optical cameras in place of the traditional GPS (geographic positioning systems) technologies, which are prone to errors. However, critical challenges remained unresolved, including cost, disparities between research and development (R&D) innovations and technology commercialization, energy use, the tradeoff between accuracy and computational speeds, and technology gaps between the Global North and South. In general, the value of this review is that it surveys the literature on the maturity level of various AI technologies in smart greenhouses and offers a state-of-the-art picture of how far the technologies have successfully been applied in agriculture and what can be done to optimize their usability.

The fundamental objective of the review article was to explore the ecological sustainability of greenhouse covering material based on the following themes; considerations for greenhouse materials, properties of polymers and glass, additives, fillers, stabilizers and reinforcements, performance, Ultraviolet (UV) transmittance, phase change materials (PCMs), and environmental sustainability. A comparison of various polymers (polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylic, D-polymer, Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polyolefins), and silica glasses illustrated that each type of greenhouse cladding material has its unique merits and limitations. The performance of silica glasses, PVC, polyolefins was influenced by weather, greenhouse design, plant under cultivation, percentage UV transmittance, incorporation of additives and stabilizers, reinforcements, and integration of photovoltaic panels into the greenhouse roof among other factors. Polymers can be customized to achieve 0%UV transmittance, slow-insecticide release, and anti-microbial properties. In contrast, glass materials are preferred based on suitable photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) transmittance and near-infrared (NIR) reflection and less risk of photo-oxidation. From an ecological perspective, polymers can be recycled via mechanical and chemical recycling, closed-loop cycling, and polymerization of bio-based feedstock. However, post-consumer plastic films do not possess the same optical and energy properties as virgin polymers. The combined benefits of different polymers suggest that these materials could be adopted on a large scale over the long-term.

This review presents the state-of-the-art research on IoT systems for optimized greenhouse environments. The data were analyzed using descriptive and statistical methods to infer relationships between the Internet of Things (IoT), emerging technologies, precision agriculture, agriculture 4.0, and improvements in commercial farming. The discussion is situated in the broader context of IoT in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change and global warming in agriculture through the optimization of critical parameters such as temperature and humidity, intelligent data acquisition, rule-based control, and resolving the barriers to the commercial adoption of IoT systems in agriculture. The recent unexpected and severe weather events have contributed to low agricultural yields and losses; this is a challenge that can be resolved through technology-mediated precision agriculture. Advances in technology have over time contributed to the development of sensors for frost prevention, remote crop monitoring, fire hazard prevention, precise control of nutrients in soilless greenhouse cultivation, power autonomy through the use of solar energy, and intelligent feeding, shading, and lighting control to improve yields and reduce operational costs. However, particular challenges abound, including the limited uptake of smart technologies in commercial agriculture, price, and accuracy of the sensors. The barriers and challenges should help guide future Research & Development projects and commercial applications.