The quest for human survival has made man to
cultivate many food crops including rice, yam, cassava, pepper, tomato, maize,
beans, etc. it is easy to note that the growths and yield of such crops cannot
be highly estimate without the use of fertilizer either organic or inorganic
considering the fact that the depletion in soil nutrients is one of the greatest
phenomena in agricultural sector today. This paper
focuses on the comparative review of organic and inorganic fertilizers in
agricultural practices among farmers in Nigeria. The literatures revealed that
both organic and inorganic fertilizers are highly effective for crops
production, it also indicate that the application of organic manure to most
food crops is healthier to human consumption, based on this findings among
others that the researcher recommended the education of farmers on the various
methods of fertilizer application in crops production, Farmers should ensure
timely application of fertilizers for maximum production, Fertilizers
should also be made available to farmers at all levels at due time and at less
cost especially now that Agriculture is better described as the bedrock of a
nation’s economy as it has the potentials for both food production and economic
diversification by current efforts of the federal government of Nigeria to
diversify the economy through agriculture and solid mineral development is a
right step in the right direction.
Fertilizer is any material, organic or
inorganic, natural or synthetic, that supplies plants with the necessary
nutrients for plant growth and optimum yield. Agriculture is an important sector in the
economy of Nigeria with production of crops like cocoa, oil palm, maize, rice,
rubber, yam, cassava, etc produced for food and foreign exchange earnings, and
providing employment for over 66% of the population (IFAD, 2014). Agriculture
remains a significant sector despite the discovery and exploitation of crude
oil which contributes about 40% of the country’s GDP (IFAD, 2014). Even though
agriculture is a leading earner of foreign exchange (Adesoji and Farinde,
2006), Nigeria is a major importer of food to supplement domestic production
and consumption (Doreo Partners, 2014). A contributing factor to insufficient
food production is the low soil organic matter content, and consequently, the
inherent infertility of soils in Nigeria and in sub-Saharan Africa. It is okay
to note that everywhere in the world people settle first in areas with high
potential fertile soils, adequate rainfall and mild temperatures. As
populations grow, soil-nutrients capital is gradually depleted when farmers are
unable to sufficiently compensate losses by returning nutrients to the soil via
crop residues, manures and mineral fertilizers.

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