Feed the soil to feed the people, the IPI jubilee

Editorial

Feed the soil to feed the people, the IPI jubilee
- Session 1: Policy issues related to food supply and the environment
- Session 2a: Economic and social issues
- Session 2b: Economic constraints
- Session 3a: Plant nutrients for sustainable agriculture
- Session 3b: Imbalance in nutrient supply
- Session 4: Potash in agriculture
- Acquiring and putting knowledge into practice - the role of IPI

News
- The law of the minimum
- Soil fertility in Czech Republic in decline

IPI Publications

Publications from other sources

Other editions of IFC

Session 1: Policy issues related to food supply and the environment
Session 2: Economic and social issues
Session 2: Economic constraints
Session 3: Plant nutrients for sustainable agriculture
Session 3: Imbalance in nutrient supply
Session 4: Potash in agriculture
Acquiring and putting knowledge into practice - the role of IPI

Acquiring and putting knowledge into practice

Celebrating 50 years of IPI, and therefore 50 years of promoting balanced fertilization may raise the question whether world agriculture has not yet accumulated enough knowledge to make further promotion obsolete and, if not, why we still need to do more. Despite the undoubted achievements of IPI in bringing the message of balanced fertilization to large numbers of people around the world, the following needs remain:

The global population is still growing and might reach a plateau of eight to ten billion in some thirty years from now. More people means that we need more food especially in developing countries where most of the population growth will occur. We also see that natural resources, i.e. land, water and energy, are becoming scarce and thus expensive, especially in the overpopulated regions of Asia. Population pressure, together with restricted availability of resources, will consequently create demands for increasing productivity from those resources that are already being used.

Secondly, it is not only the increasing number of people who need more, and affordable, food, it is also changing food habits that present a challenge to world agriculture. Driven by an advancing urbanization, especially in developing countries, people look for more diverse and easily manageable food that is rich in protein, vitamins, etc. This has its impact on the crop spectrum because the increasing demand for animal protein will also stimulate the production of feed grain especially of maize and soybean.

Thirdly, the demand for more and diverse food is increasingly complemented by the demand for quality and safe food. Recent food crises in Europe question the trustworthiness of conventional agriculture. Many consumers and politicians see an alternative in organic agriculture. But can farming based on recycling with restricted external inputs be sustainable? Can low-input agriculture produce enough food at affordable prices? It would be equally wrong to force communal farmers in Africa to adopt high-input agriculture without giving them the means to do so. They would need inputs at an affordable cost, a fair price for the produce and the necessary knowledge.

Consumers expect something more than food from agriculture. They also want a clean and healthy environment. The concept of integrating agriculture into the needs of the environment has become a major issue of agricultural policies in industrialized countries. Policies which boosted overproduction through support prices and market intervention are being disbanded. Milk lakes and butter mountains belong to the past. Farmers will, sooner or later, be liable for the cost of environmental damage resulting from bad farming practices - the polluter pays principle. On the other hand, the debate continues on how to pay farmers for maintaining the environment and landscape for the benefit of all.

The situation concerning environmental needs differs greatly between industrialized and developing countries. In the latter, top priority must be given to producing enough food, feed and fibre from the given resources, the current price/cost relationship in production, market access and infrastructure. Food must be made available at affordable prices. Hunger is still prevalent in many parts of the world. But, indirectly, it is not lack of food which makes more than 700 million people go to bed hungry. It is poverty first of all, coupled with powerlessness, civil conflicts and also environmental degradation.

Of course, agriculture in developing countries cannot be seen in isolation. Globalization, access to world markets, compliance to rules and regulations of importing countries are some of the policy issues that are also relevant to developing countries.

Knowledge transfer - the basis for a competitive agriculture

To repeat, we need food security, food diversity, food quality and food safety from farming systems which comply with the needs of the environment, which safeguard natural resources and which should be sustainable at the same time. In this context, the World Commission on Environment and Development interpreted sustainability as a "Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

One of the key elements to achieve this goal is appropriate fertilizer use and nutrient management because without plant nutrients plants cannot produce. Scarcity of resources forces farmers to try and produce more from the same area of land or volume of irrigation water. Traditional rules that were established to fertilize a plant with a yield of 2 t/ha are no longer applicable to a plant yielding 20 t/ha.

Concerning food diversity, a crop spectrum, which includes oilseeds or vegetables, has demands on nutrient management that are different from cereal dominated mono-cultures. Root architecture and hence the spatial exploitation for soil nutrients, nutrient content of the harvested produce, genotypical nutrient requirements are some of the determining factors for the nutrient management of changing cropping systems.

In food quality, whether we look for particular constituents like protein or sugar, or taste, appearance, or freedom from pests and diseases, quality is closely linked to the nutrient supply of the plant. Unbalanced nutrition spoils the quality and farmers lose their competitiveness in the market.

Food safety refers to contamination with compounds and elements which can affect the food chain and therefore the health of the consumer, whether human or animal. Appropriate and balanced nutrition of plants can for instance improve resistance to pests and diseases and thus lower the requirement for crop protection products. This reduces the risk of pesticide residues in food and improves market acceptability.

The increasing awareness of the multifunctionality of agriculture will also have its impact on nutrient management. Agriculture is expected not only to produce enough food, feed and fibre but also to maintain the landscape and give pleasure and recreation to urban people, many of whom believe that fertilizers are polluting. And if N use efficiency is only 25%, and run off water is rich in P, they are right. Furthermore, inefficient use of fertilizers is a waste of natural resources, including energy. To counter this accusation, a break with traditional thoughts and the adoption of modern nutrient management systems are needed. Nutrient auditing is one tool that can make crop production more transparent to legislative bodies as well as helping to regain consumer confidence.

Higher yields and better crop quality with appropriate use of fertilizers is also a source of rural development provided the economic framework under which farmers have to produce their crops give them the right incentives. With increasing purchasing power, farmers spend more money on non-agricultural products and are more inclined to re-invest in soil fertility. This attracts other business and creates jobs. Furthermore, appropriate fertilizer use according to the site and needs of the crop supports the sustainability of production and protects the environment.

On the other hand, poor infrastructure, inaccessible markets, nontariff barriers in international trade, lack of credit, powerlessness, unclear land title and, last but not least, lack of knowledge are some of the obstacles which prevent farmers from earning more and re-investing in soil fertility. It is unreasonable to expect farmers who have no access to markets and inputs, and no incentive to produce more and better food, to take care of the environment and the sustainability of the land they are cultivating. There are many results from field trials and research work on the effect of plant nutrition on yield and quality. There is also an increasing number of decision support systems, planning tools, qualitative and quantitative soil and plant test procedures available to assist and guide the farmer in nutrient management. Nutrient accounting helps the farmer not only to comply with legislative instructions but to monitor the sustainability of his production system. The crucial point is, however to bring this information and experience to farmers, especially in regions with limitations in communication.

The role of IPI in knowledge transfer

The working philosophy of IPI is to transfer knowledge "from the lab to the land and from the land to the lab". As a mediator between farmer and researcher, IPI makes available the latest information concerning the effect of balanced fertilization with adequate potash on the yield, quality and stress tolerance of crops. At the same time, IPI stimulates research on the behaviour of the nutrient K in soil and its function in the plant, in order to explain and understand observations in farmers' fields and give corresponding fertilizer recommendations.

IPI also helps to keep the input sector informed on market opportunities, and decision-makers and politicians informed on the status of soil fertility and the impact that improved practices would have not only on food production but also on farmers' income.

Why the focus on potassium and balanced fertilization? The fact is that fertilizer use is becoming more and more unbalanced to the detriment of K. The current use of potash, especially in developing countries, is far below the removal of K by the harvested crops. This implies advanced soil K mining with consequences for the sustainability of soil fertility. Furthermore, unbalanced fertilization means that fertilizers are used less efficiently. This is particularly so in the case of nitrogen where there is a risk of losing applied N to the environment. Apart from the negative effect on the environment and sustainability, inefficient fertilizer use with unbalanced fertilization lowers a farmer's income because the yield potential of his crop is under-exploited.

The reasons for increasing imbalance in fertilizer use are many. Because it is easily available and shows an immediate effect on the crop, N fertilizers are the preferred source of nutrients, especially in times of economic constraints. Furthermore, K is an ecologically friendly nutrient without negative impacts on the environment. It is thus out of the headlines and is of less interest to research.

Another factor responsible for unbalanced fertilization is simply lack of knowledge on the behaviour of K in soils and its effect on plant growth. In the soil, K is subjected to dynamic exchange processes between four pools which are different in their readiness, intensity and capacity to release K. Routine soil tests usually consider only partially the availability of soil K because it is difficult to examine other K pools. Therefore response predictions based on routine soil test values can be as often wrong as right. More research is needed for better understanding the underlying processes in the soil in order to develop more reliable and precise fertilizer recommendations.

Within plants, K is a multifunctional and highly mobile nutrient. Almost all biochemical and biophysical processes are directly or indirectly affected by K. It catalyzes numerous enzyme reactions. It is involved in assimilate formation and translocation and controls the water status of plants. Due to the versatile and central role of K, the expression of plants in terms of yield, quality and stress tolerance can be related to its K status. This also implies that with adequate supply of K, yield improves, the quality of the produce is better and the plants are more tolerant to biotic and abiotic stress, i.e., to pests, diseases, climatic and soil-borne calamities such as frost, heat, drought, salinity. Unfortunately, due to lack of knowledge, farmers seldom relate stagnating yields, poor crop quality and/or high susceptibility to stress to imbalance in nutrition and hidden K deficiency.

The Three pillar approach of IPI

To collect and redistribute information on the effect of balanced fertilization with potash, IPI has adopted its "Three pillar" approach, namely

• On-farm activities: simply designed field trials executed by the participating farmer and supervised by a professional advisor of the cooperating scientific institution demonstrate the beneficial effect of balanced fertilization - learning by seeing. These trials are complemented by local field days to show results not only to a larger group of farmers, but also to fertilizer distributors and extension workers. The trials may also initiate further scientific research when need arises.
• Seminars and workshops: These are mainly scientific gatherings with participants from a particular agro-ecological region. They serve as a platform to exchange views and experiences in research related to K. Country reports on the status of soil fertility, crop responses and fertilizer use provide valuable information to planners, decision-makers and to the fertilizer sector. All contributions during these events are published in the form of proceedings for further dissemination of the findings. More recently, IPI has started to conduct training programmes on certain issues such as fertigation or fertilizer marketing.
• Publications: IPI issues printed material for different stakeholders
• Leaflets: crop-specific information for farmers and extension workers in a particular country, in the local language. These are easy to read, and give the results and recommendations that have been established for that country.
• Country reports: in English and the local language, provide information about the situation of crop production and fertilizer use in general, and crop responses to potash in particular. The target groups are local extension agents, the fertilizer sector and the decision-makers.
• International Fertilizer Correspondent, ifc: published twice a year with about 5,000 addresses worldwide ranging from farmers to scientists and decision-makers. It provides easy to read information about the achievements of IPI and others with respect to soil fertility and fertilizer use.
• Crop Bulletins: 60-80 page booklets on specific crops, written by a prominent expert/scientist, which describes the botany, economic importance, function of nutrients, nutrient demand and fertilizer recommendations for that crop. It is meant as a reference for students, scientists and planners in advisory services.
• Research Topics: Booklets of 60-80 pages on an issue related to soil fertility and/or fertilizer management relevant for a particular region. Also written by a prominent expert/scientist they target extension agents, students and scientists.
• Proceedings: all oral and poster presentations at major IPI workshops and symposia are published as proceedings.
• IPI website: this contains information on IPI, more recent results and publications, a calendar of forthcoming events related to soil fertility and fertilizer use, and is linked to its member companies and major fertilizer associations.

IPI currently conducts projects in China, Vietnam, India, West Asia North Africa, Central/Eastern Europe, the FSU, Argentina and Brazil. The activities are managed by IPI-Coordinators and are supervised by local scientists from universities or research institutions such as ICAR in India, ISSAS in China, SWRI in Iran or EMBRAPA in Brazil.

Do we still need promotion of balanced fertilization as done by IPI?

Yes because agriculture is a dynamic process that is subjected to continually changing demands. Not only must crop production adapt to the current market situation but there are new issues, such as sustainability and the environment, which are further challenges that confront crop production around the world. Farmers need to be in a permanent learning process to cope with new developments.

Of course, farmers in industrialized countries have, in most cases, easy access to all kinds of information and the latest recommendations. But this is not so for farmers in developing countries. Often handicapped by illiteracy, devoid of information and neglected by inefficient advisory services, these farmers need knowledge. They are eager to learn and to adopt the idea of balanced fertilization, provided that on-farm demonstration could convince them, and the market situation supplies the inputs and gives incentives.

Extension workers from both the public and private sector are also interested to receive information, even from other regions, in order to compare and to readjust their own system. These customers for the IPI message are indispensable because they communicate and disseminate results and experiences at the local level.

The fertilizer sector is interested in the feedback when new formulas and recipes are tested on crops. This helps to develop new products and market strategies which in turn improves the availability of fertilizers. IPI maintains close contacts with fertilizer associations in all parts of the world.

Scientists in developing countries seldom have the opportunity to interact directly with farmers. Lack of funds also prevents them from meeting colleagues from other institutions and countries. With joint research programmes and through sponsored regional and international seminars and workshops, IPI creates the opportunity to meet and stimulate research activities.

Last but not least, IPI tries to attract high rank officials, local decision-makers and politicians to address regional IPI conferences. Attending such events provides them with an insight into the situation concerning soil fertility and crop production prospects.

IPI, a service of the European and Near East potash industry, will continue to act as a link between farmers and researchers. Its efforts to promote the message of balanced fertilization will continue. Not only will this bring benefits to farmers and the wider, national economy, it will help to make agriculture more sustainable with better, more productive use of those natural resources upon which the food security of the world depends.