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"The number of undernourished people in the world remains unacceptably high at about 925 million. Global food security issues exist now, and are especially of concern looking forward as world population is expected to increase by about 35% over the next 40 years. Agricultural output will need to significantly increase to accommodate the growing population. Most of the increase is expected to come from producing more on existing farmland (i.e., intensification), although some new farmland will likely be needed. Boosting crop yields and closing the gap between actual and attainable yield can be achieved by the implementation and advancement of numerous practices and technologies, including nutrient management practices and fertilizer technologies. An evaluation of long-term studies has shown that the average percent of yield attributable to fertilizer inputs generally ranged from about 40 to 60% in temperate climates (USA and England), and tended to be much higher in the tropics. All things considered, inorganic fertilizer plays a critical role in world food security, but it must be recognized that highest yields are in some systems the result of using both organic and inorganic nutrient sources. Adoption of the 4R principles-right nutrient source at the right rate, right time, and right place-help ensure appropriate use of nutrient resources and optimized productivity."

Food Security and the Role of Fertilizer in Supporting it



  1. 03-10-2022 Bioliquid fertilizer (BLF; also known as organic liquid fertilizer) is popular within ECHO’s network and among smallholder farmers around the world.This fertilizer is easier to make than other on-farm amendments such as compost and is easily adaptable. ECHO encourages using locally available...
  2. Key Resource 01-07-1984 One aspect of ECHO's ministry is behind the scenes for most of our readers. We help college professors and students in the sciences identify research projects that would be of benefit to the small Third World farmer. Several ideas that could be done at an undergraduate level are written up in...
  3. Key Resource 20-01-2009 All plants need certain mineral elements for proper growth, development, and maintenance. The basic structure of all organisms is built of carbon (C), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). Plants obtain these elements from water (H2O) in the soil and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, so no input is...
  4. Key Resource 01-01-2014 In order to achieve high levels of agricultural productivity in the tropics at the lowest possible economic and ecological costs, we need to properly understand the relationship between nutrients in the soil and crop productivity. For this to happen, the current understanding needs to change. The...
  5. 20-01-2005 In our training seminars, every student gets a bottle of EME. We teach them by making it in class. They also are trained on how to use their bag of five different soil amendments. This encourages students to use them in the project that they have already started. Some students are just starting...
  6. 20-01-2005 Green fertilizer is Fundamental #5. It feeds the next crop efficiently. As you plow crop residue into the soil it will eventually become humus and fertilizer for following crops. It is a form of composting, in which materials do not need to be transported to a mixing/composting site. You could...
  7. 20-01-2005 With all the instant gratification available to the consumer these days, nature seems to take a long time. Stabilizing your soil, pasture and livestock areas don’t happen over night. Nevertheless, Microbial Management with foliar sprays and fertilizers can help in the transition.
  8. 01-08-2017 Faced with the challenges of smallholders in terms of agricultural inputs and the limitations of mineral fertilizer, ECHO's West Africa Impact Center has provided farmers with practical and economic knowledge. One example of this is the technique of manufacturing organic liquid fertilizer.
  9. 01-07-2004 We read an article in Appropriate Technology (Volume 28, No. 3; July/September 2001) about farmers in Niger who used bottle caps to distribute tiny amounts of fertilizer. Despite drought conditions, farmers who used this technique harvested 50 to 100 percent more millet than those who did not.
  10. 19-01-1997 Information about making bonemeal fertilizer from animal bones.
  11. 01-01-2020 This study, conducted at ECHO during the Summer of 2011, was carried out to compare eggplant fruiting response to varying rates of a standard mineral fertilizer versus 6 month old compost with 25% cow manure and 75% plant matter (evenly split between woody and green, leafy material). The high...
  12. 20-04-2014 Comfrey is a unique perennial plant that requires minimal maintenance after planting and that can give high, sustained yields of nutrient-rich leaves for use as fertilizer, animal feed and more. It is high in potassium (K) and other micronutrients, and seems to improve fruiting and disease...
  13. 20-07-2008 Farmers in Nigerused bottle caps to distribute tiny amounts of fertilizer in each planting hole. Coca cola bottle caps hold 6 grams (0.2 oz) of fertilizer, and one capful was used for two to three plants.
  14. 19-07-1994 Nitrogen fertilizer should not be applied to trees and shrubs directly after transplanting.
  15. 20-07-2010 Alkalinity of Urine. Urine in storage can reach a pH of 9.0. HIV/AIDS. A person reading a draft of the urine article asked whether HIV/AIDS would be a concern with the use of urine as a fertilizer. Controlling the Odor of Urine. Dr. Arnat Tancho recommends mixing a small amount of microbial...
  16. 20-10-2010 Input from the ECHO network concerning the use of urine as a fertilizer.
  17. 01-04-2010 Faidherbia albida exhibits reverse leaf phenology, losing its leaves at the beginning of the rainy season just as farmers want full sun for their crops. While most other species flower before or during the rains, the apple ring acacia flowers and leafs out at the end of the rainy season providing...
  18. Lightning Talk, ECHO International Agriculture Conference, November 19, 2020 Bio liquid fertilizer, organic liquid fertilizer Hawken Sawyer and Lyle Carlson
  19. ABSTRACT - Journal of Composting Science and Utilization, 2017 Earthworm digested wastes (vermicompost) are being produced in increasing quantities to make farming sustainable. A study was carried out for two consecutive years (2007–09) at the Agricultural Experimental Farm of Indian Statistical...
  20. Key Resource 01-01-1995 Fourteen chapters address various aspects of human waste or, as the editor puts it, the "by-products," of our increasingly urban and industrial society. Topics range from the societal, political, and regulatory issues associated with land application to more technical issues such as the negative...
  21. 20-01-2006 An expanding world population and the urgency of eradicating hunger and malnutrition call for determined policies and effective actions to ensure sustainable growth in agricultural productivity and production. Assured access to nutritionally adequate and safe food is essential for individual...
  22. Abstract -Procedia Engineering, 2012 The number of undernourished people in the world remains unacceptably high at about 925 million. Global food security issues exist now, and are especially of concern looking forward as world population is expected to increase by about 35% over the next 40...
  23. Access Agriculture Training Video Land in Tororo district in Uganda has been intensively used and the soil fertility is low and declining. This video shows a possible solution - using urine as a fertiliser. Available languages Arabic Bambara English Fon French Kiswahili Luganda Peulh / Fulfuldé...
  24. Android Welcome to the Fertilizer Optimizer app! This app will assist you in using fertilizer more efficiently to optimize your fertilizer investments. The app will ask you for information on crops grown, area planted, expected crop sale prices, fertilizers costs and the budget you have to invest...
  25. Abstract, Biogeosciences, 2015 There are national and regional efforts aimed at increasing fertilizer use in sub‐Saharan Africa, where nitrogen (N) inputs must be increased by an order of magnitude or more to reach recommended rates. Fertilizer inputs increase N availability and cycling rates and...
  26. In this article we examine the health hazards posed by nitrogen fertiliser use in developing countries and particularly three serious human disease, methaemoglobinaemia, gastric and bladder cancer. We then discuss the losses of nitrogen from fertilisers to water and the atmosphere and the...
  27. Papers presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy in Chicago, Illinois, Dec. 6, 1978. Here the authors review the current state of knowledge on the potential for N loss and the manner in which inhibitors function. They then offer an in-depth report on how inhibitors have...
  28. People call it in different ways: the new green revolution; renewed farm focus; global community's new commitment to agriculture. But the message is clear: while the agricultural landscape has been experiencing rapid changes, we must all adapt in order to attune ourselves to the call of the...
  29. 05-10-2017
  30. ABSTRACT - Journal of Compost Science and Utilization, 2017 The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of application of different organic fertilizers (general organic fertilizer, GOF; biogas residue, BR; refined organic fertilizer, ROF) as compared to no fertilizer on the composition of...
  31. 01-01-1960 This publication discusses the creation of mulch and how to use it.
  32. If you?re an agronomist, horticulturalist, plant and soil scientist, breeder, or soil microbiologist, you?ll want to read Nutrient Use in Crop Production to find everything you need to know about judicious nutrient management and maximizing nutrient utilization in the agricultural landscape. In...
  33. Nitrogen pollution of lakes, rivers, and oceans by human urine is a growing problem.Liquid Goldshows how urine can safely be used to grow food, fuel, fiber, and beautiful landscapes while protecting the environment and providing free and safe fertilizer. Featuring a short history of urine use—...
  34. This manual is the first in a series planned by the Regional Project, designed to give detailed, practical advice on the various methodologies of organic recycling.
  35. In the present guide certain questions are pose, and replies have been given which, we hope, are as clear and precise as possible. This document essentially constitutes an explanation of the role of phosphorus in the living world, in the soil, and in the life of platns, as well as the means of...
  36. Anaerobic digestion, or biodigestion, involves the microbial degradation of organic materials in an oxygen-free environment. Feedstocks for anaerobic digestion include livestock manures, crop residues, culled fruit and vegetables, food waste, and other organic by-products. The process produces...
  37. 20-06-2017 No, fertilizer as we normally think of it doesn’t grow on trees! But agroforesters and other agriculturalists are using this term for any tree that helps improve the quality of soil. One great exampleis the Apple Ring Acacia (Faidherbia albida). The Apple Ring Acacia is an unusual tropical...
  38. Access Agriculture Training Video For healthy crops you need a healthy soil, because a healthy soil contains many good microbes and earthworms. To prepare biofertilizer for half a hectare, you need 10 kg fresh cow dung, cow urine, flour from chickpeas or another pulse, jaggery or unrefined sugar,...
  39. Jayasinghe PS, Pahalawattaarachchi V, Ranaweera KKDS. Effect of Seaweed Liquid Fertilizer on Plant Growth of Capsicum annum. Discovery, 2016, 52(244), 723-734 Seaweed contains all the trace elements and growth hormones required by plants. Recently there is a growing concern over the use of...
  40. Access Agriculture Training Video Poultry waste is rich in nitrogen and other nutrients, and is good food for beneficial microbes in the soil. Mix it with decomposed cow dung and carbon-rich materials. To speed up decomposition, sprinkle organic decomposer or Trichoderma on the waste. From rotten...
  41. Citation: Prasedya, E.S.; Kurniawan, N.S.H.; Kirana, I.A.P.; Ardiana, N.; Abidin, A.S.; Ilhami, B.T.K.; Jupri, A.; Widyastuti, S.; Sunarpi, H.; Nikmatullah, A. Seaweed Fertilizer Prepared by EM-Fermentation Increases Abundance of Beneficial Soil Microbiome in Paddy (Oryza sativa L.) during...
  42. 16-11-2022 Session : This session goes over facts for the use of human urine as fertilizer, the safety considerations for the use of urine, Reducing risk, social, stigma, cropping system, regimented service functions, application systems, and more. Presenter :Missionary working in South Sudan with Christian...
  43. Panchagavya, an organic product has the potential to play the role of promoting growth and providing immunity in plant system. Panchagavya consists of nine products viz. cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd, jaggery, ghee, banana, Tender coconut and water. ---Tamil NaduUniversity
  44. Karl-Johan Bergstrand, Organic fertilizers in greenhouse production systems – a review, Scientia Horticulturae, Volume 295, 2022, 110855, ISSN 0304-4238, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110855. Abstract: From a sustainability point of view, there are strong arguments of nutrient recycling...
  45. 01-01-1981 This bulletin contains easy-to-follow, well-illustrated directions for making fertilizer with materials likely to be found in a village situation. Included are instructions for making the fertilizer in a simple frame or container, a list of possible raw materials, and a list of general...
  46. IFDC is an independent non-profit organization that combines innovative research, market systems development, and strategic partnerships to spread sustainable agricultural solutions for improved soil health, food security, and livelihoods around the world.

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