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02 April 2024

THE GUARDIANS OF OUR SOIL
How rhizobacteria are revolutionizing agriculture by reducing the need for mineral fertilizers?

Published by Camille Rozier-Beyssac and Cécile Lamoulie | N° 212 - Agritech & Digital, law, regulation and democracy

CybèleAgrocare has made the winning bet of working on certain rhizosphere bacteria, known as "diazotrophs", to make agriculture more efficient and sustainable. These micro-organisms have the natural property of biologically fixing the nitrogen (N2) present in the air and redistributing it in a form that can be assimilated by plants. This major breakthrough in agronomy, and more broadly in life sciences, offers sustainable alternatives to the agricultural sector in terms of reducing conventional and chemical inputs.


Why is it becoming urgent to find effective alternatives to nitrogen fertilizers? Before 1830, around 97% of the nitrogen supporting life on Earth was fixed biologically. However, the advent of the Industrial Revolution marked the beginning of agricultural intensification, principally enabled by the Haber-Bosch process. Developed in the early 1900s, this catalytically combines atmospheric nitrogen with hydrogen, producing ammonia under conditions of high temperature and pressure. Although this...
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Authors

Camille Rozier-Beyssac
Cécile Lamoulie

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