Smart Materials and Nano-Enabled Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security

Smart materials and nanoscale technologies are transforming agriculture, by allowing plants to grow food under circumstances that would otherwise make it impossible and improving the ability of plants to take in nutrients."For example, it slows down the release of nutrients to be made available for the plant and as food storage."The innovation allows for slow, targeted release of nutrients and real time monitoring of plant and soil condition" he adds.They can support sustainable yield increases and enhance food security under changing climatic conditions.In particular, the review synthesizes evidence on how nano-fertilizers and nanopesticides have translated from plot-scale experiments to operational farms in terms of yield gains, input-use efficiency and reduction in environmental losses across different soil and climatic conditions.It highlights examples where hydrogels and nanomaterial-based soil amendments have improved water productivity and soil health under on-farm conditions, and where nanosensors and smart packaging have delivered measurable benefits in product quality and shelf-life within real supply chains.By contrasting controlled trials with largeplot and farmer-managed studies, the review clarifies the extent of performance improvement that has been demonstrated in practice and the gaps that remain for broad deployment Key work to be done ahead are large scale field trials, transparent framework for risk and safety assessment, cohesive regulations between countries along with integration of these technologies into digital farm management tools so that small and marginal farmers can also take advantage.