MIT Technology Review is reporting that companies are developing microbial fertilizers to reduce reliance on energy-intensive chemical production and cut costs for farmers. The publication said that while chemical fertilizers are crucial for global food supply, their production accounts for roughly 2% of global greenhouse-gas emissions and has seen prices skyrocket due to the Iran war.
A startup called Switch Bioworks is taking a new approach, using a genetic switch to allow microbes to establish healthy colonies before shifting into nitrogen-producing mode. Tim Schnabel, the company's founder and CEO, said the goal is to "reinvent fertilizer." Switch is currently trialing its product in six U.S. states, initially focusing on corn. The company's modeling suggests its products could eventually replace up to 50% of a farm's synthetic fertilizer, with initial products aiming for about 25% replacement.
Pivot Bio, another company in the field, has had its microbial products used on millions of acres since its founding in 2011. It has expanded beyond corn to include cotton, wheat and other small grains. Travis Frey, Pivot's chief technology officer, noted that growers are facing a "double whammy" of rising fertilizer costs and dropping commodity crop prices, creating a significant opportunity for biological solutions.
Dan Blaustein-Rejto, director of food and agriculture at the Breakthrough Institute, highlighted the potential for these products to help farmers reduce emissions in a hard-to-abate sector. John Havlin, a professor at North Carolina State University, expressed excitement about the future role of these products in reducing nitrogen load. However, MIT Technology Review noted that experts believe there is a ceiling to how much synthetic fertilizer microbes can replace, with full replacement not foreseeable in the near future.
Full Article: How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops