Fertilizing the future without polluting it: Rethinking chemical inputs and advancing sustainable nutrient management
Year: 2026
Type: editorial
Abstract: Agriculture has long relied on fertilizers to sustain crop productivity and meet the nutritional demands of a rapidly growing global population. Since the mid-twentieth century, chemical fertilizers have played a decisive role in increasing agricultural yields and preventing large-scale food shortages. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium inputs transformed farming systems and allowed many countries to move from subsistence agriculture to surplus production. However, the very tools that once symbolized progress is now increasingly recognized as contributors to environmental degradation. Today the challenge is no longer simply how to produce more food, but how to do so without damaging soil, water, air as well as environment. Fertilizing the future without polluting it requires a fundamental reassessment of fertilizer use, its environmental consequences and the role of sustainable alternatives such as organic fertilizers, vermicompost, biofertilizers and emerging technologies like nano-urea.
Authors: Palash Bose, Kazi Abdus Sobur
Institution: Bangladesh Agricultural University
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7127048589