Exploring the Barriers to Circular Economy Implementation in Agricultural Sector: A Way Forward to Achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger)

The agricultural sector is responsible for the global consumption of large amounts of resources, with over 90% of its impact caused by land use. In this context, Circular Economy (CE) has emerged as a strategy for minimizing the impact of agricultural activity on the environment. Research on CE in the agricultural sector is still nascent, which highlights a significant gap in the literature on the identification of barriers for its implementation in agriculture, particularly in relation to Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2). This manuscript proposes a comprehensive framework for the identification and categorization of such barriers aligned with the objectives of SDG 2, namely, end of hunger, achievement of food security, improvement in nutrition, and promotion of sustainable agriculture. A literature review based on PRISMA guidelines was conducted towards identifying barriers, which were refined by Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) and the most significant ones were ranked by Best–Worst Method (BWM). The review returned 50 relevant articles from Web of Science database and 10 dimensions and 52 categories of barriers were identified. Seven experts applied FDM to evaluate the significance of those 52 barriers, highlighting the 22 most critical ones. They were ranked by BWM, which identified Initial and transition costs, Operational knowledge and information gaps, Resistance to change, Technical knowledge and information needs, and Conflicting policies and institutional barriers as the most important obstacles for the implementation of CE in agriculture, aligned with SDG 2. Those in the top positions require immediate attention from CE managers and policymakers for the development of targeted strategies and interventions tailored to overcome them.