Thin Air Nitrogen Solutions LLC, spun out from research done at Colorado State University. The firm is developing a natural, energy-efficient and distributed bio-fertilizer production and utilization system with two distinct markets in mind: organic farmers in the USA and smallholder farmers in Africa. Thin Air Nitrogen Solutions, LLC seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of producing cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer in a pilot-scale outdoor open-pond system in Ethiopia where there is great need for alternative, locally-produced biological fertilizers in African farming systems.Soil fertility depletion in smallholder farms is the fundamental cause for declining per capita food production in sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately 250 million people already suffer from hunger. In addition, less than 5kg/ha fertilizer nutrients (N, P, and K) are applied to food crops in Africa on average, the lowest fertilizer use rates in the world. The price of fertilizers in rural Africa is usually at least twice the international price, and transport costs are about seven times higher in Africa than in the USA.
