What you need to know about biofertilizers
Women in agriculture: closing the gender gap in farming
Using microbes instead of synthetic fertilizers to increase the nutrition of the soil and promote plant growth is better for the environment. It doesn’t cause pollution and it limits the amount of toxic chemicals needed for farming. Although the micro-organisms found in biofertilizers exist naturally in most ecosystems, you typically won’t find them in abundance in man-made crop fields. However, you can purchase pro- ducts that contain these microbes to use on your crops. Using biofertilizers can often help farmers decrease the amount of chemical fertilizers they need to produce high yields of superior-qua- lity crops, thus decreasing the negative environmental impact made by their farms.
Chemical fertilizers have long been used by farmers to promote plant growth and crop production and to ac- commodate increasing food demands. However, the overuse of synthetic fertilizers harms the environment as it causes air and water pollution and depletes minerals from the soil. This is why more and more commercial far- mers are turning to biofertilizers as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical ones. Biofertilizers are substances that contain living micro-organisms that na- turally improve the nutrient content of the soil, allowing plants to grow more abundantly. Certain types of bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria form symbio- tic associations with host plants and carry out processes that improve the supply or availability of vital nutrients.
Farming has historically been a hea- vily male-dominated industry, but today, many women are choosing to pursue careers in agriculture. Although the overall number of farm operators in Canada is going down, the number of female farmers is stea- dily increasing. In 2016, women ac- counted for almost 30 per cent of all farm operators in Canada — nearly 78,000 out of 272,000 Canadian far- mers total. Women farmers were most common among farm operators between the ages of 35 and 54, making up nearly a third of the age group. In addition to the increasing numbers of female farm operators, more and more women are taking jobs in fields that support the agricultural industry, such as working for machinery dea- lers, food companies and agricultural
research firms. The number of female students enrolling in post-secondary programs relating to agriculture is also increasing. Despite these recent advances, there’s still a significant gender gap in the agricultural industry. Women are consi- derably under-represented on agricul- tural boards and in farming associa- tions and are still working to overcome out-dated cultural stereotypes that de- pict farming as men’s work. The rising cost of farmland also serves as a barrier of entry for women, who on average earn less than their male coun- terparts. Nevertheless, the growing numbers of women in agriculture sug- gests that the future of farming will be increasingly female.
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