Key facts and figures

• The foundation of sustainable agriculture is soil fertility, a term that encompasses the soil’s nutrient content, the amount of soil organic matter (SOM), the soil structure, its pH balance and the presence of microorganisms.
• Most soils lack at least some plant nutrients, and growing crops remove nutrients from the soil. Soil nutrients must be replenished when removed and supplied when deficient.
• It takes years and sometimes decades for natural processes to restore nutrients in the soil.
• Organic sources of nutrients provide fewer nutrients than most people think (and these are not necessarily in plant-available forms), but they are usually excellent for improving other aspects of soil fertility.
• Inorganic sources (“manufactured” fertilizers) contain only plant-available nutrients and therefore have no direct influence on soil structure or the presence of microorganisms.
• Agronomists generally consider it optimal to use both organic and inorganic sources together, a technique called Integrated Plant Nutrition Management (IPNM).
• The nutrients found in fertilizers exist in global cycles. In this sense, nutrients are never truly consumed, but they can become more difficult to secure for human purposes.
• Nutrient recycling is likely to gain importance in the future, but there are currently technical, economic and logistical obstacles to recovering industrial and urban wastes for agricultural use.
• The nutrients in most inorganic fertilizers come from the land and the air. They exist in nature, but their plant available forms are not abundant enough for the level of agriculture needed to feed and clothe more than 6 billion people.
• The fertilizer life cycle begins with the mining of ore containing phosphorus, potassium or numerous micronutrients. Nitrogen for fertilizers is almost exclusively captured from the atmosphere through ammonia synthesis.
• After primary processing and beneficiation, some forms of these nutrients can be ground and applied directly to certain soils. Others require additional processing to increase the nutrient concentration and enhance the quality of fertilizer products.
• Environmental issues concerning the fertilizer industry relate to the whole chain of production, storage, transport and use. There are also questions of occupational health and safety for all who handle these products.
• Satisfactory technology now exists for the control of most potential pollutants resulting from fertilizer manufacture. However, some sites still have significant progress to make.
• The industry has made significant progress in recent decades to improve its efficiency and thus reduce its environmental footprint. In the energy-intensive ammonia sector, for example, energy consumption per unit of product is 30% less than it was four decades ago, and the best performers are approaching the thermodynamic limit of minimum energy use.
• IFA has a long-standing commitment to efficient and responsible production. In 2000, IFA was an early signatory of the UNEP International Declaration on Cleaner Production.
• Fertilizer raw materials are unevenly distributed around the globe, making it necessary to transport bulky materials over long distances.
• Particularly in developing countries, difficult access to adequate sources of good quality, affordable crop nutrients may result in lower yields and impact the quality of produce, with direct negative effects on food security, nutrition security and farmer livelihoods.
• The fertilizer industry is engaged in efforts to implement regulations, institutions and partnerships that will foster the development of an effective and efficient fertilizer distribution system.
• The inefficient use of fertilizers represents a waste of resources, a large economic loss and can contribute to unwanted environmental impacts.
• In many countries there are inadequate research and advisory activities to ensure that farmers have access to the best management practices for their local conditions. Furthermore, even when they have appropriate knowledge, farmers may not be able to access the fertilizer products or other technologies needed to achieve best management.
• As part of its contribution to help nutrient use to become more sustainable, IFA promotes the development and adoption of Fertilizer Best Management Practices (FBMPs). The principle behind these FBMPs is simple: use the right product(s) and at the right rate, time and place^TM.
• IFA has an initiative to assess how fertilizer applications can be targeted to reduce human micronutrient deficiencies.