Inorganic ferilisers: A blessing or a curse
Inorganic fertilisers are highly soluble and are washed away by rainwater and irrigation and end up contaminating groundwater and rivers
Marzuk Hasnath
Inorganic fertilizer, also known as mineral or commercial fertilizer, is fertilizer mined from mineral deposits or manufactured in a laboratory from synthetic compounds (chemicals).
Inorganic fertilizers offer a few apparent conveniences. Firstly, they are readily available, as opposed to organic (natural) fertilizers which are only sold by a few companies. Furthermore, despite the inherent superiority of organic fertilizers, producing them is difficult because the required raw materials such as cow dung are not always available, and on top of that, the production process generally spans from three to four month.
Secondly, chemical fertilizers are quickly absorbed into the soil and are almost immediately ready for take-up by plants, a distinct advantage over natural fertilizers which depend on soil organisms to first break down the organic matter before nutrients can be released. Furthermore, transportation, storage and handling of chemical fertilizers are often easier.
Do you know what happens to people who frequently use painkillers? They become totally dependent on them, and develop an urge to use them more and more frequently. In the end, their friend in need ends up causing major brain and kidney damage, and even death.
The analogy between painkillers and chemical fertilizers is striking:
1) Just like painkillers that cause long term and permanent damage to users organs, inorganic fertilizers destroy long term soil fertility. Besides the essential nutrients available for plants use in inorganic fertilizers, they also contain other compounds and salts which plants cannot absorb, and so are left in the soil. Over time, these compounds build up in the soil and change the soil chemistry, making it toxic and less suitable for agriculture.
Also, continual application of the fertilizer disturbs the natural biotic environment and affects the soil structure. Most soil organisms do not survive in areas of consistent application of inorganic fertilizers. In simple terms, chemicals in organic fertilizers kill-off other living organisms in the soil, which creates long term problems because these organisms are essential to a healthy soil, plant growth and food nutritional value.
Chemical fertilizers also lack micronutrients and organic matter. Micronutrients are those compounds which are essential for healthy plant growth but are needed in much lesser quantities. On the other hand, organic matter enhances soil structure, aeration and moisture retention. Thus, consistent application of chemical fertilizers either leads to a depleted soil, or an increased dependence and expenditure on inorganic compounds (this time, you end up buying micronutrients).
2) Just like painkillers that poison the human body, chemical fertilizer also end up poisoning us. Only about half the content in a typical bag of chemical fertilizer consists of beneficial elements. The other half can be just about anything, and is often industrial waste that contains poisonous metals such as zinc, lead and cadmium, some of which end up in the food chain and cause major damage. For example, zinc can enter the food chain through both plants and some fishes while cadmium, which causes severe damage to kidneys, is also taken up by plants so when we eat these plants, they end up in our body. [Source: International Scholarly Research Network, Vol. 2011, Article ID 402647] More commonly, excess nitrogen in food produced using chemical fertilizers directly causes cancer. [Source: Nielsen (2005), ISBN 9781920769307]
3) Water contamination: inorganic fertilizers are highly soluble and are washed away by rainwater and irrigation. They end up contaminating groundwater and rivers which leads to water related poisoning amongst humans, and lower natural fish production (thus, the abnormally rapid fall in the supply of naturally occurring fish, leading to very high market prices).
4) Higher costs: since inorganic fertilizers are easily washed away, they may have to be applied after every heavy rainfall. On the other hand, organic fertilizers do not wash away so easily since they break down slowly.
Making an all-purpose organic fertilizer requires cow dung and green matter such as water hyacinth or fresh leaves. While the latter can be availed at relative ease, the former must be sourced strategically, ideally through own livestock. Moreover, leguminous crops such as lentils will fix the nitrogen content in the soil, removing the need to apply toxic urea fertilizer.
However, plants require several nutrients and additional ingredients should be added depending on which crop is to be cultivated. For example, wood ash may be added to the organic fertilizer mix to cater to the needs of plants such as tomato that require high amounts of potash. Unfortunately, this particular material is not in abundant supply but a more feasible option is poultry-manure compost, which is very rich in the three main nutrients required by plants nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Otherwise, sourcing appropriate ingredients may be prohibiting expensive and one may be left with little alternative other than applying inorganic micronutrients mix to the soil, at least until consumers are willing to pay higher prices to compensate for the higher costs. However, even in this case the farmer must be careful to choose the least harmful mix available.
If we want to stay healthy, we need to avoid chemical fertilizers. If we want to lower (natural) fish prices, we must to start demanding harmful-chemical free food. If we dont want high food prices in future (due to lack of fertile land), we should promote natural based fertilizers.
Only a few companies bother trying to sell organic food as it is much more expensive to produce and also because consumers are not prepared to pay higher prices for organic food, as they do not appreciated its importance and true value. Thus, the food revolution must start with the consumer. If we are prepared to pay enough, it will be worthwhile for companies to produce organic food.
The writer is a freelancer
