Cover Story 3 - Supratim Patra

Chemical fertilizers Vs organic fertilizers
                                                                                                             Supratim Patra
There are different types of fertilizers are available in market like chemical fertilizers, natural fertilizers and organic fertilizers. The qualities of product both external and internal greatly depend on the type of fertilizers which is being used by the farmers. Maximum percentages of farmers are using the chemical fertilizers for getting more productivity; however now a day’s many are shifting to organic fertilizers due to the apparent benefits of the later. Organic fertilizers are rich in plant nutrients like carbon based compounds, nitrogenous compounds, phosphate based compounds, potassium based compounds and other essential nutrients for plant growth. They have lots of benefits over the chemical fertilizers.
ü  Non toxic food :
Usage of these organic fertilizers ensures that the food items produced are free of hazardous as well as toxic chemicals. As a result, consumers who eat these organic products are less prone to diseases such as cancer, heart stroke and skin disorders, as compared to those who consume edible products produced using chemical fertilizers.
ü  On farm production :
Most of the organic fertilizers can be prepared by locally available materials and in the farm itself by the farmers. Hence the cost of these fertilizers is very less than the cost of chemical fertilizers. Most of the organic fertilizers are produced by biodegradable organic substances; hence no products are wasted.
ü  Very less financial investment :
Organic fertilizers help in maintaining the soil structure as well as health and increase its moisture and nutrient holding capacity. These fertilizers also help in increasing the number of beneficial soil dwelling micro organisms. Hence a farmer who has practiced organic farming for many years will require very less quantities of fertilizers as his soil is already nutrient rich. So day by day capital investment will become very less and will get more and more productivity of safe products.
ü  Fertility of soil: 
Land in ancient civilizations such as India and China are still fertile though agriculture has been practiced there since thousands of years. The fertility is still maintained as organic fertilizers were used in the past. So organic fertilizers ensures that the soil remain fertile for hundreds of years. However, now land is rapidly losing its fertility by increased use of chemical fertilizers and forcing farmers to further increase the amount of chemical fertilizers inputs or to leave farming. 
ü  Eco-friendly :
Organic fertilizers are mostly produced by bio degradable organic substances. hence, do not cause any kind of environmental pollution. On the other hand chemical fertilizers contaminate land as well as water which is responsible for diseases in human beings and also in other animals. Large number of plants, animal and beneficial insect species are becoming extinct due to biomagnification and bioaccumulation effects of those hazardous chemical fertilizers.
ü  Employment :
We all know that chemical fertilizers are produced in large plants that are fully automated and have an annual production capacity of millions of tons. On the other hand organic fertilizers can be prepared locally and basically on a smaller scale. As a result, in rural areas organic fertilizers leads employment where employment opportunities are in a crisis.




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