Fertiliser

The main issue with fertiliser is that it does not improve the soil structure. It would be optimal if soil could build its own microbiological structure, which becomes more efficient when smaller amounts of fertiliser are added.

This is now possible through using GR42 as it greatly reduces the consumption of fertiliser.

However, currently, high levels of fertilisers are used in many countries around the world to support the growth of plants but this is at the expense of polluting valuable groundwater. The phosphate overload in the groundwater has led to non-edible drinking water and subsequently municipalities have to invest heavily to clean this water so it is suitable to drink.

In many emerging countries, pure drinking water is therefore more polluted.

To obtain high harvest rates, tons of fertiliser and pesticides are required which results in natural soil structures being destroyed and the ground water being polluted.

With GR42 the amount of water and fertiliser used is significantly reduced. In addition:

• When GR42 is used, a very minimal amount of fertiliser is required to achieve the same results as a standard fertilised crop.
• For extreme yield increases, only 30% of the normal fertilisation is needed.
• GR cube is an all-in-one soil conditioner and water retainer with NPK minerals incorporated into its structure.
• The fertilisation effect of GR42 lasts for at least six years and completely dissolves after eight years.
• The groundwater contamination is almost zero.

Soil

Soil erosion is defined as the wearing away of topsoil. Topsoil is the top layer of soil and is the most fertile because it contains the most organic, nutrient-rich materials. One of the main causes of soil erosion is water erosion, which is the loss of topsoil due to water.

Soil erosion is fast becoming a severe problem for the world. It is estimated that "more than a thousand million tonnes of southern Africa's soil erodes every year. Experts predict that crop yields will be halved within thirty to fifty years if erosion continues at present rates."

Soil erosion is not unique to Africa, it is happening worldwide.

Large-scale factory farming techniques are jeopardising humanity's ability to grow food now, and in the future, as they are contributing to the “Peak soil” phenomenon. “Peak soil” refers to the point at which we will have reached a moment where there is no longer enough fertile soil to sustain the world's populations. Without efforts to improve soil management practices, the availability of arable soil will become increasingly problematic.

Phosphate is a primary component in the chemical fertiliser which is applied in modern agricultural production. However, scientists estimate that rock phosphate reserves will be depleted in 50–100 years and that peak phosphorus will occur in about 2030.

The phenomenon of peak phosphorus will make rock phosphate reserves more difficult to extract and this will impact on the cost of fertiliser and will drive food prices higher. In the long term, it is anticipated that phosphate will be recovered and recycled from human and animal waste in order to maintain food production.

As the global population grows larger and demand for food increases, the pressure on land resources will intensify. As a result, land is also considered a finite resource on Earth.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates that in coming decades, cropland will continue to be lost to industrial and urban development, along with reclamation of wetlands, and conversion of forest to cultivation, resulting in the loss of biodiversity and increased soil erosion.

Given the finite supply of natural resources at any specific cost and location, agriculture that is inefficient or damaging to much needed resources may eventually exhaust their availability or the ability to afford and acquire them. It may also generate negative externality, such as pollution as well as financial and production costs.

There are several studies in cooperating these negative externalities in an economic analysis concerning ecosystem services, biodiversity, land degradation and sustainable land management.

Two of the many possible practices of sustainable agriculture are crop rotation and soil amendment, both designed to ensure that crops being cultivated can obtain the necessary nutrients for healthy growth. In light of concerns about food security, human population growth and dwindling land suitable for agriculture, sustainable intensive farming practices are needed to maintain high crop yields, while maintaining soil health and the ecosystem.

A farm that is able to "produce perpetually", but still has negative effects on environmental quality elsewhere in its processes is not considered as providing sustainable agriculture. An example of a case in which a global view may be warranted is, over-application of synthetic fertiliser or animal manures, which can improve productivity of a farm but can pollute nearby rivers and coastal waters (eutrophication).

The other extreme can also be undesirable, as the problem of low crop yields due to exhaustion of nutrients in the soil has been related to rainforest destruction, as in the case of slash and burn farming for livestock feed. Sustainability affects overall production, which must increase to meet the increasing food and fibre requirements as the world's human population expands to a projected 9.3 billion people by 2050. Increased production may come from creating new farmland, which may ameliorate carbon dioxide emissions if done through reclamation of desert as in Israel and Palestine, or may worsen emissions if done through slash and burn farming, as in Brazil.

Sustainable agriculture has become a topic of interest in the international policy arena, especially with regards to its potential to reduce the risks associated with a changing climate and growing human population.

The Commission for Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, as part of its recommendations for policy makers on achieving food security in the face of climate change, urged that sustainable agriculture must be integrated into national and international policy. The Commission stressed that increasing weather variability and climate shocks will negatively affect agricultural yields, necessitating early action to drive change in agricultural production systems towards increasing resilience. It also called for dramatically increased investments in sustainable agriculture in the next decade, in areas such as: