Fertilizer Strategies

The rapid response of the agricultural sector to increased crop prices indicates that it is able to meet the world's overall food requirements. The problem lies more in the distribution of the agricultural output and the economic inability of a segment of the population to satisfy basic requirements. This document presents guidelines for governments on the development of fertiliser strategies. It illustrates the difference before and after the involvement of the private sector and offers solutions for improvement. The role of fertilisers in the development of agriculture is discussed with practical suggestions for decision-makers regarding production and import. The many issues involved in the efficient distribution and marketing of fertilisers are presented, together with an institutional framework for the integration of all the aspects into a comprehensive policy. There is a useful glossary.

Water scarcity is threatening food security in many countries, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. At the same time, the attainment of national food autarky is an essential goal for the governments of these countries, which implies critical effects on long-term water availability in the farm sector. Focusing on the Darab region of Iran, the research presented in this volume demonstrates how short-term oriented government strategies - in the form of policy measures such as low-interest credit, crop insurance schemes, and a minimum guaranteed purchase price - may jeopardize the country's long-term food security by accelareating the depletion of its water resources. These policies run counter to a sustainable use of groundwater resources, pointing to an obvious conflict between Iran's food self-sufficiency strategies and the country's long-term food security.

Fertilizer is a vital component of strategies for expanding foodproduction. The rapid growth in population and the widening food deficits inmany tropical countries ofAsia, Africa, and Latin America call attention to those aspects of fertilization that have been neglected but are expected to yield large economic payoffs in the future. Fertilizer sulfur falls into this category. In the past fertilizer sulfur received little attention from researchers and policymakers since sulfur deficiency was not considered a serious problem. It was not a problem because of low crop yields, extensive cropping, and the incidental supply of sulfur through rain, irrigation water, manures, and sulfurcontaining fertilizers. However, the situation has changed in the last three decades. Moder nagriculture based on high crop yields, intensive cropping, improved crop varieties, and greater use of sulfur-free fertilizers and environmental regula tions restricting sulfur emissions are creating large gaps between sulfur sup ply and sulfur requirements. Sulfur deficiencies are widespread and grow ing. Consequently, the full potential of a modern agricultural system in tropical countries is not being realized. This research effort results from the recognition of the seriousness of the sulfur problem and its adverse impact on food production as well as IFDC's dedication to the development and transfer of economically ef ficient fertilizer technology to tropical countries. This study represents a comprehensive analysis ofthe technical and economic linkages between fer tilizer sulfur and food production, and it provides guidelines for future directions in fertilizer sulfur research and public policy.

In its endeavor to improve agricultural productivity, food security, and livelihoods, Nigeria has pursued several approaches in fertilizer policy. Most of these approaches revolved around variants of government-financed subsidy programs. This paper assesses the history of fertilizer policies in Nigeria and the tenets of the fertilizer policies in two recent national agricultural policy documents – the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) (2010/11-2016) and the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) (2016-2020). Our review results show that despite some recent achievements in ATA and APP, Nigerian fertilizer policies have lacked consistency and continuity, which in turn affected the functioning of supply chains, logistics channels including distribution costs, fertilizer prices, farmers’ access to the input, and, ultimately, application rates and crop productivity. Thus, though Nigeria is one of the leading producers of fertilizer in sub-Saharan Africa, fertilizer consumption and farm application rates are generally low (below 20 percent of the application rate per hectare (ha) in developed countries). Moreover, several exogenous factors including poor infrastructure (especially bad roads), credit constraints, extension services, high fertilizer prices, lack of access to information, security threats, and lack of quality control or assurance also affect the functioning of fertilizer supply chains in Nigeria. The newly adopted national agricultural policy (National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) promises to build on ATA and APP and gradually deregulate the fertilizer sector to incentivize private sector investments in local fertilizer production and distribution. NATIP also requires the incorporation of practical approaches to tackle important exogenous constraints. We anticipate NATIP’s commitment to policy continuity and addressing exogenous challenges will bring efficiency and effectiveness to the fertilizer sector in Nigeria.

The Fertilizer Manual, 3rd Edition, is a new, fully updated, comprehensive reference on the technology of fertilizer production. The manual contains engineering flow diagrams and process requirements for all major fertilizer processes including ammonia, urea, phosphates, potassium products and many others. Environmental considerations are addressed clearly. Equally important, the manual includes chapters on fertilizer use, production and distribution economics, raw materials, and the status of the fertilizer industry with demand-supply projections. Professionals involved with any phase of fertilizer production, use, marketing, or distribution will find this book valuable.