More and more agricultural producers are jumping on the sustainable fertilizer bandwagon and, it is no longer a question of obtaining the “organic” food labels, the average consumer is also starting to notice how food loses its value (taste , texture, etc.) and are committed to sustainable products. I would like to think that it is also due to a greater awareness of the need to take care of the planet.
Another agriculture is possible. We are what we eat. The Earth is getting sick. These are short and punchy phrases that are the order of the day, because it is important that we have these concepts well engraved in our minds to be able to bet on a sustainable, ecological and healthier diet. How is this achieved? Without a doubt, bet on products from sustainable agriculture, in which organic fertilizers are used and the times required by nature are respected.
There are many concepts that we need to stop describing in this one paragraph to be clear that we are all talking about the same thing.
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What does sustainable agriculture mean?
The FAO describes sustainable agriculture as one that can meet the needs of present and future generations but without causing damage to the environment, while recalling that it must be profitable, promote social and economic equity.
As this is a blog dedicated to the environment, I will stick to this aspect. Sustainable agriculture must be one that does not end up producing more damage to the earth and destroying its cycles, but favors its fertility already, which does not impoverish the quality of the soil, which does not damage the purity of the water and takes care of the natural resources it already provides.
What is an organic fertilizer?
You have surely noticed in your surroundings how more and more people are looking for organic, local products, purchased directly from farmers… This is how eco-market gardeners were born, supermarkets offering ranges of sustainable products. or supermarkets that sell local products. .
The reason for this is that there is an increase in the consumption of sustainable products, where quality takes precedence over quantity, where we begin to have a pejorative image of inorganic fertilizers, because these harm the ability to production and field health.
Therefore, when we talk about organic fertilizer we refer to -paraphrasing the Spanish Association of Agronutrient Manufacturers- a fertilizer with substances of animal or vegetable origin that provides one or more nutrients, promotes microbial activity in the soil (essential), takes advantage of residues organics, improves capacity By absorbing water, they can help recover organic matter from the soil, among other benefits.
However, when we are talking about a inorganic fertilizer it is necessary to speak about very important damage on the ground, and not only on the quality of the food which we are going to eat. Because, as we said before, we are what we eat. In this sense, the risks and damages that this type of fertilizer can bring are:
- Infertility in soils: What a chemical fertilizer promotes is the growth of the plant, which implies that it will thus bear more fruit in less time (increases production – economy) but it damages the soil since its times are not not respected, it saturates it and other fundamental nutrients of it are canceled.
- Increase the acidity of the soil, or its PH, which results in a cause of more infertility.
- These fertilizers generally provide the soil with an excess of nitrogen, which results in a increase in non-beneficial microorganisms and which can damage crops. What happens when this happens? That ultimately more chemicals are needed to mitigate it, which results in more damage to soil and food.
- I know pollute the watersboth underground and on the surface, since the proportion of heavy metals increases.
It is therefore not surprising that more and more agricultural producers are jumping on the sustainable fertilizer bandwagon, or that small farmers are betting on organic fertilizers that respect their land. We all have the opportunity to choose the world we want and to promote change, both those of us who grow – on a small or large scale – and those of us who buy vegetables, by choosing a environmentally friendly product.