Year Published
- 2008 (0)
- (-) Remove 2009 filter 2009
- 2010 (1) Apply 2010 filter
- 2011 (0)
- 2012 (0)
- 2013 (2) Apply 2013 filter
- 2014 (0)
- 2015 (2) Apply 2015 filter
- 2016 (0)
- 2017 (5) Apply 2017 filter
- 2018 (0)
- 2019 (0)
- 2020 (1) Apply 2020 filter
- 2021 (0)
Research Topics
Populations
- (-) Remove Countries/Governments filter Countries/Governments
- Rural Populations (0)
- (-) Remove Smallholder Farmers filter Smallholder Farmers
- Women (7) Apply Women filter
Types of Research
- Data Analysis (0)
- Literature Review (9) Apply Literature Review filter
- Portfolio Review (0)
- Research Brief (2) Apply Research Brief filter
Geography
- East Africa Region and Selected Countries (2) Apply East Africa Region and Selected Countries filter
- Global (0)
- South Asia Region and Selected Countries (0)
- Southern Africa Region and Selected Countries (2) Apply Southern Africa Region and Selected Countries filter
- Sub-Saharan Africa (3) Apply Sub-Saharan Africa filter
- West Africa Region and Selected Countries (4) Apply West Africa Region and Selected Countries filter
Dataset
- ASTI (0)
- FAOSTAT (9) Apply FAOSTAT filter
- Farmer First (0)
- LSMS & LSMS-ISA (0)
- Other Datasets (6) Apply Other Datasets filter
Current search
- (-) Remove 2009 filter 2009
- (-) Remove Smallholder Farmers filter Smallholder Farmers
- (-) Remove Agricultural Inputs & Farm Management filter Agricultural Inputs & Farm Management
- (-) Remove Countries/Governments filter Countries/Governments
Lack of nitrogen (N) is often cited as the most limiting factor in agriculture. Although N composes nearly 80% of the atmosphere, plants are unable to use this form of the element (N2) because of the strong triple bonds between the two atoms. Nitrogen deficiency is especially problematic in the soils of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Low levels of N and other soil fertility problems have severe poverty, malnutrition and environmental degradation consequences for SSA. The process by which atmospheric N2 is converted into N compounds that can be used by living things is called nitrogen fixation. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF or biofixation) offers an alternative or additional means to traditional nitrogen fixation to increase plant-available nitrogen. Through a symbiotic relationship, an N-fixing bacterium infects a plant (usually a legume) and forms nodules on the roots of the plant in which N fixation occurs. This literature review examines the expansion and benefits of BNF, the constraints to BNF adoption, BNF regulations, and success stories of developing and distributing BNF technologies worldwide. BNF technology can be an efficient and effective tool for decreasing environmental degradation and increasing soil fertility, yields, income, and food security in SSA, although many constraints to farmer adoption exist.