The quality of soil is declining rapidly, which has severe impacts when it comes to aspects such as the scarcity of food. Soil degradation occurs due to factors including improper utilization of land, pasture, and agriculture and industrial or urban purposes. The process involves the decline in the biological, physical, and chemical state of the soil. Soil degradation examples include severe changes in alkalinity, salinity, or acidity, soil fertility, usage of toxic soil pollutants, extreme flooding, deterioration of the soil’s structural condition, and erosion. Excessive soil degradation can be responsible for giving rise to immediate and long-term impacts.

Mostly soil degradation occurs naturally, however, climate change, urbanization, industrialization, and other human activities have also contributed considerably to the declining quality of soil all across the globe. Attributed to these factors, there is a pressing need for making sure that the quality of maintained, which is why farmers around the world are making wide usage of humic acid. The compound is a group of molecules which bind to and aid roots of the plant in receiving water and nutrients. High levels of humic acid can boost the yield dramatically and its deficiency can prevent the gardeners and farmers from growing crops with optimum nutrition.

Because of these benefits of humic acid, the humic acid market is predicted to advance at a considerable pace in the coming years. The acid is dark brown in color and is extracted from coal sediments or soil upon reaction with different reagents and chemicals. Different applications areas of this acid are seed, foliar, and soil. Out of these, humic acid was utilized the most for the foliar application in the past, as it is being utilized extensively in several concentrations and physical forms by either directly adding it to the soil or by spraying.

The acid can be used for different crop types namely turf and ornamentals, row crops, and fruits and vegetables. The largest demand for humic acid in the past was created for row crops, due to the surging scarcity for food globally. When the geographic scenario is taken into consideration, the European region emerged as the largest humic acid market in the past, which is ascribed to the early adoption of humic acid and rising penetration of organic farming in countries including the U.K., Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. Other than this, the adoption of humic acid is also projected to increase significantly in North America in the coming years, owing to its superior performance and advanced properties. 

Apart from the degrading quality of soil, the scarcity of food around the world is also a major reason for the adoption of humic acid. The population globally is growing rapidly, which is why the agricultural organizations are aiming at increasing the crop yield and quality. In this case, the utilization of humic acid has resulted in positive outcomes and enhanced plant growth by improving different plant mechanisms, including cell respiration, enzyme activities, protein synthesis, photosynthesis, and water and nutrients uptake.

Hence, the demand for humic acid is rising because of the rapid soil degradation and growing scarcity of food.