Using Biopesticides as a Promising Alternative to Chemical Pesticides - Thesis Example

Agriculture is fundamental for progress, and growth of a country’s economy as well as the sufficiency of food for human and animal consumption. An input-output relationship should and is supposed to yield to an equilibrium where an added input should increase the output to an optimum level. With the consideration of other factors that affect the consistency of production such as climate and diseases, progressive production increase is unreachable and the reverse happens. As time progressed, agricultural production was marred by a number of problems.

The consistent and appreciating acidification of soil colloids, residual effect of chemical compounds, loss and disruption of soil structure, the killing of free-living and symbiotic micro-organisms in the soil as well as a broad environmental impact of global warming are just but a few of the tremendous effects of consistent use of agrochemicals that were acquired commercially. The quest for increased agricultural production was met by a Green Revolution Era that was concentrated on the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and other chemical control means to minimize losses and maximize the effective plant utility of inputs.

Feeding the plant and maintaining its health became of utmost importance. Woe unto the proponents of the idea since other factors of soil, environment, and safety were inescapable. A cry for residual free crop products by consumers and environmentalists led to the questioning of the Green Revolution. In a bid to solve the impact that these crop protection products, use of a biological, environmental and ecosystem friendly products proved to be the only positive and effective for sustainable development (Raja N, 2013).

Biological tools, which are living organisms, are a conclusive and confident solution to the effects of the Green Revolution since they provide the use of living organisms to solve problems of fertilization and pests’ control. Confucius once said that, despite the vastness of the universe, we owe our existence to a six-inch length of soil and the fact that it rains. Agriculture and its sustainability must be engraved to the principles of environment, ecosystem, and survival. The environment that it takes place should be conducive enough; the ecosystem balance and equilibrium must be maintained as well as the survival of all living organisms that constantly depend on agriculture; which is the greater percentage.

  A bio-fertilizer is an organic product that contains a micro-organism that is derived either from plant roots or from the soil of the root zone. Due to profound usage of agrochemicals as fertilizers and harmful pesticides on production crops, the sustainability of agricultural systems crumpled, cultivation cost rose above, income stagnated and later dropped, food security and safety became a dread disaster to curb. Soil health, not forgetting was greatly expensed for. Biopesticides are target-specific and will leave no harmful residue in soil rhizosphere.

Biopesticides are therefore living organisms capable of destroying agricultural pests. A discussion of these bio-inputs will help in realization of their indelible positive impacts on agriculture such as improvement of yields, growth as well as restoring soil health and balance and conservation of the environment (Jyoti S, 2013).