Abstract

The basic goal of agricultural development organizations is to influence farmers to adopt agricultural innovations. The transfer of innovation and knowledge from research unit to farmers will trigger substantial development if farmers agree to adopt it. Organic farming is one of such strategies that not only ensures food safety but also adds to biodiversity of soil. Application of bio-fertilizer to the soil increases the biodiversity which comprises all kinds of useful bacteria and fungi including the arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi called plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and nitrogen fixers. Bio-fertilize means 'live fertilizer’ and it was used to include organic fertilizer. Despite the fact that bio-fertilizer technology is a low-cost and ecofriendly technology, many constraints limit its application and implementation among the users; these constraints are technological, infrastructural, financial, environmental, human resources, unawareness and quality. In view of these, this study used available literature to review bio-fertilizer, biochemistry of bio-fertilizer production, types of bio-fertilizes, microorganisms used in bio-fertilizer, the role of bio-fertilizers in promoting plant adaptation to environmental change and the constraints to adoption of bio-fertilizer among the farmers