Chemical Fertilizers Killing Soil

Farmers in Kenya and other African countries blame recent widespread use of acidifying fertilizers for severely degrading soil fertility. Once fertile lands are now nearly barren due to these practices.

• Africa holds 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, yet spends approximately $60 billion annually on food imports. This amount is projected to increase to $110 billion by 2025 due to rising demand and changing consumption patterns.

How chemical fertilizers kills soil?

• Overuse of chemical fertilizers contributes to soil acidification, soil crust formation, reduced organic matter, and decreased beneficial species. This affects plant growth, alters soil pH, promotes pests, and can release greenhouse gases.
• Soil acidity leads to land degradation by reducing nutrient availability, weakening soil structure, and increasing susceptibility to erosion.
• Other responsible factors:
  • Farming Practices: Aggressive tilling disrupts soil structure and reduces beneficial bacteria.
  • Chemical Agriculture: Pesticides and fertilizers can disrupt soil microbiota, hindering nutrient availability.
  • Population Pressure: Increasing population, food insecurity, and intensive farming contribute to widespread soil degradation through erosion, acidification, and salinization.
  • Crop residue burning, land misuse, mismanagement, and climate change further exacerbate soil health.

Why Soil is Essential?

• Ecosystem Services: Soil acts as a vital ecosystem service by filtering water, providing habitat for countless organisms, and producing antibiotics crucial for fighting diseases.
• Food Security: Soil is essential for healthy food production, supplying nutrients, water, oxygen, and root support necessary for plant growth and development.
• Biodiversity: Soils harbor beneficial microbes crucial for biodiversity and ecosystem health.
• Climate Change Mitigation: Soil plays a critical role in carbon sequestration, storing an estimated 2,500 gigatons of carbon and helping combat climate change.

Methods to Save Soil:

• Organic Practices: Use organic fertilizers, recycle biomass, grow green manure crops, and practice mulching to replenish soil nutrients.
  • Neem-coated urea: India has introduced 100% Neem Coating on all subsidized agricultural grade urea. Neem coating works as nitrification resistant. It propagates slowly and ensures availability of nitrogen as per crop requirement which results in growth of crop production.
• Crop Diversity: Employ practices like inter-cropping, mixed cropping, and crop rotation to enhance soil fertility and nutrient replenishment.
• Agroforestry: Integrate tree and plant growth with crops to improve soil health and sustainability.
• Permaculture: Adopt sustainable farming methods that respect natural systems and maximize ecosystem benefits.
• Biofertilizers: Use microbial-based fertilizers to enhance soil fertility and reduce dependence on chemical inputs.
• Other sustainable practices: Adopting sustainable practices like vermicompost, green manure, and biopesticidescan enhance soil fertility and promote long-term crop productivity without relying on chemical inputs.