Circular economics in agriculture: conceptual bases and implementation possibilities in Belarus

Achieving sustainable economic growth has become an important point on the global agenda today. Harmonious coordination of sustainable development components, ensuring economic growth, social stability and ecological balance, can be achieved in the long term using the concept of circular economy, which, in turn, serves as a practical tool for transition to green economy. Despite the fact that implementation of circular economy is becoming global and competitive advantages of implementing this concept are becoming more obvious, in general, it has not been widely developed in Belarus yet. The paper reviews conceptual basis of circular agriculture, reveals peculiarities and principal differences from the traditional production model. Based on study of world experience, the importance of state support and scientific support for circular transformation of the industry has been substantiated. Sectoral specifics of plant production and livestock waste use is revealed. The results of agricultural producers survey regarding use of waste in various areas are presented: transfer for processing, sale, use of third-party secondary raw materials. Information, economic and technological barriers retaining circular transformation of Belarusian agriculture are revealed. Prospects of implementing principles of circular economy for large agricultural producers and small farm households have been substantiated. The issues covered in the paper are of interest when preparing projects of state social and economic development programs, sectoral programs for development of agro-industrial complex, strategies for ensuring environmentally safe production and efficient use of natural resources for the period until 2025. Practical use of the proposed results and proposals for implementation of circular economy principles in agriculture will ensure more efficient use of raw materials within production cycles and achieve sustainable development of agriculture in general.