Biofertilizers: An Imminent Approach for Sustainable Agriculture

In the current scenario of ever-increasing population, the demand for a sustainable agriculture supply is evident to combat food crisis. Excessive use of synthetic fertilizers has taken a toil on human and environment health putting the ecosystem in a state of turmoil. To abate the situation, biofertilizers are an excellent choice for sustainable farming. The use of plant growth promoting microorganisms has its own benefits when it comes to soil and plant health and enhanced crop yield. But challenges to use biofertilizers include the lack of sufficient availability of the product and lack of awareness in regard to concentration, time, and method of application. Also, public investments in bio-inputs are substantially lower compared to the significant subsidy provided for the chemical inputs. Central government initiatives like NITI Aayog, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) and National Food Security Mission (NFSM) provide financial assistance and subsidies to predispose the interest of farmers towards organic farming. Under the Soil Health Card Program, the Government of India has also been pushing Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) for the prudent use of pesticides to limit excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. Conventional biofertilizer formulation limit the shelf life and efficacy of biofertilizers whereas advanced techniques like pelletized formulation using carrier material like compost and biochar are useful in improving the shelf life and efficacy of the biofertilizer. Other than this, encapsulation is another way to further increase shelf life using alginate-based microcapsules of biofertilizers which assist in boosting the cell resistance against unfavorable temperatures and pH. Additives such as glycerol, chitin, peat, and skim milk are also providing promising results influencing the cell viability and enhanced growth for a better field performance.