Strategies for developing and promoting innovative fertilizer formulations for efficient crop production: industry’s view

Abstract

The predicted increase in human population implies that agricultural yields must be sustainably increased and crops adequately supplied with plant nutrients. Raw materials for fertilizers and soil amendments differ in quality. The use of local resources should increase in importance, but global scarcities are not expected within the next generation. Because of variations in climate, soil fertility, and crop requirements, the need for nutrients varies. The need for external supplies is usually limited to a few elements: N, P, K and sometimes S, Mg, Zn, and B. However, variations in needs are so extensive that a single or a few formulations cannot adequately cover all the requirements and conditions. Quantifying local needs and fitting formulations to these is one of the challenges that must be addressed in nutrient management. A further challenge is the development of appropriate systems and physical product characteristics to suit special conditions, e.g., soils with a low cation exchange capacity, or areas with high rainfall intensity. Ways to increase the plant uptake of applied nutrients to minimize losses and to maximize the crop’s ability to resist stresses such as drought and diseases through appropriate nutrition must be found. However, chemical reactivity and economic considerations restrict the options available to the formulator. Production, packaging, transport and distribution costs, and farm-level realities also set practical limits to the range of formulations that can be supplied. Further, marketing and promotion must be tailored to the social and economic realities of farmers. A strategy for addressing all these issues implies a close cooperation among fertilizer producers, distributors, financial institutions, state and local authorities, plant breeders, soil and crop scientists, advisors, and finally—the most important persons in food production—the farmers themselves. Although appropriate product formulation is important, the main strategic challenge is to integrate all the participants in food production into a harmonious working relationship which is profitable to all.