Synthetic fertilisers are killing our soil

Filepic/The Star

THE Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) calls on all Malaysians, including farmers, to avoid using synthetic fertilisers. Such chemicals have a very negative impact on soil biodiversity, including suppressing the activity of beneficial nitrogen-fixing bacteria, thereby negatively affecting the very crops people are trying to plant.

While synthetic fertilisers are able to enhance crop productivity in the shortterm, their overuse and misuse can lead to longterm degradation of soil biodiversity and ecosystem health.