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Agriculture in the 21st century faces unprecedented challenges, including climate change, soil degradation, and the need to feed a growing global population projected to exceed 9 billion by 2050. These pressures demand innovative solutions to enhance crop yields, improve soil health, and ensure sustainable farming practices. 

In a new article published in , Dr. Swaroop Chakraborty and his collaborator Professor Iseult Lynch and Professor Miriam Gifford (University of Warwick) explore how Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are emerging as transformative materials in sustainable agriculture. These highly porous and customizable structures offer solutions for controlled nutrient release, water purification, and soil remediation. By adopting a safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) approach, MOFs can revolutionise agricultural practices while ensuring environmental and human safety. 

MOFs can deliver essential micronutrients like zinc and iron directly to plant roots, enhancing nutrient use efficiency and reducing fertilizer runoff. They also offer innovative solutions for removing pesticides, heavy metals, and other pollutants from agricultural ecosystems. For instance, iron-based MOFs (Fe-MOFs) have been used to deliver the fungicide thifluzamide to rice plants, reducing nutrient wastage and enhancing crop productivity. 

Integration of MOFs into agricultural systems requires a comprehensive evaluation through the lens of the SSbD framework to balance innovation with protection of environmental and human health:

• Scalable and Green Synthesis: Achieving agricultural impact necessitates scalable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient synthesis methods. Embedding green chemistry principles—such as the use of benign solvents, minimal energy inputs, and reduced waste—into the production process ensures sustainability at scale.

• Safety First: MOFs must be evaluated for their ecotoxicological profiles across soil, water, and biotic systems. Investigations into the interactions of MOFs and their transformation or degradation products with soil microbiota, plant roots, and higher organisms are crucial to avoid unintended consequences. Studies should focus on the potential for metal ion leaching, bioaccumulation, and transformation under agricultural conditions.

• A complete life-cycle assessment (LCA) should underpin the design and deployment of MOFs, accounting for raw material sourcing, synthesis, application, and eventual degradation or removal. LCA can provide insights into resource efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste management implications.

• Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Transparent Communication: Advancing MOFs in agriculture requires a collaborative approach, bridging materials science, environmental science, and life sciences. Such synergies can innovate novel MOF formulations while validating their safe application under real-world agricultural conditions, ensuring full cost-benefit analysis, and enhancing farmer and consumer confidence.

By incorporating the SSbD framework into MOF development, agriculture can achieve sustainable practices that balance productivity, environmental health, and food security. MOFs have the potential to play a pivotal role in meeting the growing demands of global agriculture while protecting ecosystems for future generations.