Underuse of fertilizers, as well as overuse, can have adverse environmental consequences, the authors point out. A failure to replenish soils with needed nutrients after crops have been harvested can lead to increased soil degradation, deforestation, and depletion of the natural resource base as poor farmers abandon nutrient-starved soils and cultivate marginal areas, such as rain forests and hillsides. The paper also reviews past trends in fertilizer use, reporting that in recent years, fertilizer use has declined in developed countries and increased in developing countries. By 1991, the developing countries share of total fertilizer use was 58 percent. Half of all of the fertilizer applied by developing countries is used in East Asia.
Proper citation is required.