{"title":"Nanofertilizers for Sustainable African Agriculture: A Global Review of Agronomic Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability.","authors":"Queen Khundi, Yaqi Jiang, Yi Sun, Yukui Rui","doi":"10.3390/nano15050390","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As Africa's population continues to grow, the need for sustainable agricultural practices has intensified, sparking greater interest in nanofertilizers This review critically evaluates the agronomic efficiency and environmental sustainability of nanofertilizers in the African context. It combines existing research on nanofertilizers' effectiveness, nutrient-use efficiency, and environmental impact. Nanofertilizers have shown a nutrient-use efficiency boost of up to 30% compared to conventional fertilizers. This review also highlights benefits such as enhanced crop yields (up to 25% increase in maize production), reduced chemical fertilizer requirements (up to 40% reduction in nitrogen application), and improved soil health. The analysis informs policy, research, and practice aimed at optimizing nanofertilizer deployment for sustainable African agriculture. The projected global population of 2.4 billion by 2050 highlights that the need for sustainable agricultural solutions has never been more important. Our review conveys an assessment of nanofertilizers' potential contribution to Africa's agricultural sustainability and food security.</p>","PeriodicalId":18966,"journal":{"name":"Nanomaterials","volume":"15 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11901558/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nanomaterials","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15050390","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
As Africa's population continues to grow, the need for sustainable agricultural practices has intensified, sparking greater interest in nanofertilizers This review critically evaluates the agronomic efficiency and environmental sustainability of nanofertilizers in the African context. It combines existing research on nanofertilizers' effectiveness, nutrient-use efficiency, and environmental impact. Nanofertilizers have shown a nutrient-use efficiency boost of up to 30% compared to conventional fertilizers. This review also highlights benefits such as enhanced crop yields (up to 25% increase in maize production), reduced chemical fertilizer requirements (up to 40% reduction in nitrogen application), and improved soil health. The analysis informs policy, research, and practice aimed at optimizing nanofertilizer deployment for sustainable African agriculture. The projected global population of 2.4 billion by 2050 highlights that the need for sustainable agricultural solutions has never been more important. Our review conveys an assessment of nanofertilizers' potential contribution to Africa's agricultural sustainability and food security.
期刊介绍:
Nanomaterials (ISSN 2076-4991) is an international and interdisciplinary scholarly open access journal. It publishes reviews, regular research papers, communications, and short notes that are relevant to any field of study that involves nanomaterials, with respect to their science and application. Thus, theoretical and experimental articles will be accepted, along with articles that deal with the synthesis and use of nanomaterials. Articles that synthesize information from multiple fields, and which place discoveries within a broader context, will be preferred. There is no restriction on the length of the papers. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical research in as much detail as possible. Full experimental or methodical details, or both, must be provided for research articles. Computed data or files regarding the full details of the experimental procedure, if unable to be published in a normal way, can be deposited as supplementary material. Nanomaterials is dedicated to a high scientific standard. All manuscripts undergo a rigorous reviewing process and decisions are based on the recommendations of independent reviewers.