Revolutionizing Agriculture with Metal-Organic Frameworks

Agriculture in the 21st century faces unprecedented challenges from climate change and soil degradation to the pressure of feeding a population expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050. These demands call for innovative strategies to enhance crop productivity, restore soil health, and ensure sustainable farming.

In a recent article published in Matter, Dr. Swaroop Chakraborty, in collaboration with Professors Iseult Lynch and Miriam Gifford (University of Warwick), highlights the emerging potential of Metal-Organic Frameworks as transformative materials in sustainable agriculture. With their highly porous and tunable structures, MOFs enable controlled nutrient delivery, water purification, and soil remediation paving the way for precision agriculture.

MOFs can enhance nutrient-use efficiency by delivering essential micronutrients like zinc and iron directly to plant roots, minimizing fertilizer runoff. They also offer promising solutions for capturing pesticides, heavy metals, and other pollutants. For instance, iron-based MOFs (Fe-MOFs) have been successfully used to deliver the fungicide thifluzamide to rice plants, improving productivity while reducing environmental loss.

However, integrating MOFs into agriculture requires a holistic Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach to ensure environmental and human safety. Key considerations include:

- Scalable and Green Synthesis: Employing cost-effective, energy-efficient, and eco-friendly production methods aligned with green chemistry principles.
- Safety Assessment: Evaluating ecotoxicological impacts on soil, water, and organisms. This includes studying metal leaching, bioaccumulation, and interactions with soil microbiota and crops.
- Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA): Analyzing the full life cycle from raw material sourcing to degradation to optimize sustainability, resource use, and waste management.
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Bridging materials science, environmental science, and life sciences to co-develop MOFs tailored for real-world agricultural use, while ensuring transparency and building trust among farmers and consumers.

By embedding SSbD principles into the design and deployment of MOFs, agriculture can transition toward smarter, safer, and more sustainable practices. These advanced materials hold the promise to reshape global farming, supporting food security while preserving the planet for future generations.

Source: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/revolutionising-agriculture-with-metal-organic-frameworks