Growing Use and Impacts of Chemical Fertilizers and Assessing Alternative Organic Fertilizer Sources in Ethiopia

Abstract

This paper reviews relevant facts and statistics about the benefits and impacts of the growing use of chemical fertilizer with a focus on soil fertility, crop productivity, and alternative sources of biofertilizers. Agriculture in Ethiopia is the main source of the economy, and it is the key contributor of the export value and provider of raw materials to processing industries. However, Ethiopian agronomical production is characterized by low output, lack of infrastructure, and low level of technology and is enormously dependent on rainfall availability. In Ethiopia, soil fertility reduction is evolving as a serious contest causing low crop yields, and research findings reported that, at the country level, nutrient balance indicated a depletion rate of 122 kg N ha−1 yr−1, 13 kg P ha−1 yr−1, and 82 kg K ha−1 yr−1. To control soil fertility depletion, primarily fertilizers are used as the source of essential plant nutrients. In Ethiopia, the use of chemical fertilizers to increase crop production was low relative to other developing countries; however, now, it is steadily increasing. Urea and diammonium phosphate are common practices for maintaining soil fertility. Chemical fertilizer consumption increased from 12 kg/ha in 1996 to 36.2 kg/ha in 2018. The main cereals’ production increased from 16.5 quintal/ha in 2009 to 23.94 quintal/ha in 2018.

Effects of Bio-Slurry and Chemical Fertilizer Application on Soil Properties and Food Safety of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.)

“…Injudicious application of chemical fertilizer causes environmental pollution, damages soil physico-chemical characteristics, and causes various problems to human health [5][6][7][8][9]. Tis has initiated researchers around the globe to search for eco-friendly alternative fertilizers that would ensure agricultural biosafety and environmental and human health [6].…”

“…Particularly, the use of chemical fertilizer is not the appropriate solution to overcome these restraints, exclusively for vegetables that have steadily short time and are consumed fresh. Moreover, the use of chemical fertilizer is not only a threat to human health [27] but also its continuous use may lead to the accumulation of heavy metals in plant tissues, which compromises the nutritional value and food safety [5,8,28]. Terefore, considering environmental and human health risks, sole dependency on chemical fertilizer is not recommended at least for small-scale farmers who can have options of using organic sources of fertilizer [29].…”

A Comprehensive Review of Nano-Urea vs. Conventional Urea

“…Conventional chemical fertilizers are globally employed to enhance agricultural yields in response to rising food demands from the growing population. However, the post-green revolution era saw rampant and excessive use, causing environmental concerns [1]. As the global population increases and arable land diminishes, the demand for chemical fertilizers, particularly nitrogen, intensifies [2].…”

Diversity, mechanisms and beneficial features of phosphate-solubilizing Streptomyces in sustainable agriculture: A review

“…Often, the excess use of chemical P can lead to severe risks to environmental and human health, such as groundwater contamination and waterway eutrophication ( Alori and Babalola, 2018 ). Beside their negative environmental impact, chemical P-based fertilizers are expensive due to their extraction costs from the raw materials (P rock) and the substantial amounts of energy required to transform them into forms that farmers can use ( Abebe et al., 2022 ). This high cost could be balanced by investing money in an alternative procedure with a greater potential return.…”