Embedding the 8R Framework Into Agricultural Policy for Agro‐Industrial Waste Management: Evidence From Tamil Nadu, India

ABSTRACT Circular agricultural and agro‐industrial systems have always been traditionally present, but the growth of the industrialization process and globalization is causing increasing inefficiencies of resources and the appearance of massive amounts of waste at the farm‐to‐processing continuum. Food waste or loss causes almost one‐third of the total food produced globally; agro‐industrial processes produce large volumes of solid residues, wastewater, and process by‐products. In Agro‐based economies like the Tamil Nadu region in India, where agriculture and agricultural related industries are key economic considerations, issues of water scarcity, poor waste management and recovery of resources have continued to limit sustainability. This review paper derives a policy‐based framework on using 8R circular hierarchy of Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Recover, Recycle, and Rot to apply to agricultural and agro‐industrial systems. The research assesses policy instruments at the national and state level using an 8R Policy Embedding Matrix based on systematic document review, thematic content analysis, and structured policy mapping. An Agro‐Industrial 8R Index (A‐8RI) is also constructed in the form of a composite to measure the degree of circularity of policy, regulatory, and institutional aspects. The results suggest the presence of medium degree of circular integration (A‐8RI = 41%), and the policy focus is mostly on the resource‐use efficiency (Reduce) and partial supporting recycling and biological treatment routes (Recycle and Rot). On the contrary, there are high gaps in upstream waste prevention (Refuse), resource recovery at industrial scale (Recover), wastewater reuse and infrastructure modernization (Refurbish). These loopholes show how the existing policy frameworks have structural constraints, especially in facilitating the nutrient recovery, water reuse, and reintroducing the recovered products in the market. The review paper concludes that the integration of the 8R framework in the agricultural policy frameworks can become a scalable option to achieve resource‐positive and climate‐positive agro‐industrial frameworks through the strengthening of circularity, waste valorization, and cross‐sectoral policy coherence.