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Fertilizers and the Africa Fertilizer Summit
Questions about fertilizers
What are fertilizers?
Think of fertilizers as plant food. Fertilizers are combinations of
the nutrients that plants must have to grow, in a form they can use.
The main nutrients in fertilizers are three essential elements:
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, often called N–P–K. About 20
secondary or “trace” minerals such as copper, iron, manganese, zinc,
and boron are also necessary for normal plant growth. People require
the same nutrients. These plant nutrients can be supplied by organic
fertilizers, such as plant residues or livestock manure, or mineral
fertilizers, which are chemically processed to meet crop needs.
Plants generally need more nitrogen than phosphorus or potassium.
Thus, nitrogen is the major component of most fertilizers.
Phosphorus is the plant world’s equivalent of carbohydrates—it
provides energy for plants to thrive. Potassium helps plants fight
stresses and disease, and grow strong stalks.
Most
nitrogen in mineral fertilizers is drawn from the air—which is 80%
nitrogen—by an industrial process and converted to ammonia. The
ammonia is converted to various nitrogen-based fertilizers such as
granular urea and liquid ammonia. Phosphorus, potassium, and most
secondary or trace nutrients are mined from the ground.
All
plant nutrients, whether in organic or mineral fertilizers, are the
same, but mineral fertilizers have the advantage of concentration,
and nutrients can be blended to meet specifications. Thus, mineral
fertilizers can be better “targeted” to meet the nutritional needs
of specific plants and soils.
Why do we need fertilizers?
As
plants grow, they absorb and deplete or “mine” nutrients from the
soil. Farmers harvest those same nutrients when they harvest crops.
Fertilizers, whether mineral or organic, nourish the soil by
returning essential mineral nutrients.
It
is a biological fact that plants require 1 kilogram of nitrogen to
produce 10 to 15 kg of grain. Our atmosphere is about 80% nitrogen.
Most tropical soils “fix,” or draw from the atmosphere, enough
nitrogen to produce about 1 ton of grain per hectare. To produce
more grain, the plants must have more nitrogen, whether as organic
or mineral fertilizer. Plants must also have phosphorus, potassium,
and “trace” minerals. If a soil lacks or has insufficient amounts of
these minerals, they must be added as fertilizers, or production
will stagnate or cease.
Couldn’t the world be fed using organic fertilizers?
Organic farming is less efficient and lower yielding than farming
with mineral fertilizers, especially in Africa. This is partly
because mineral fertilizers deliver far more essential nutrients per
unit weight than does organic matter. Also, Africa’s depleted soils
can no longer deliver enough organic matter to maintain soil health.
If
the world’s 1.5 billion hectares of farm land were farmed
organically, we would have enough food for only about 2.4 billion
people—leaving more than half the world’s 6.5 billion people without
food. Organic sources of mineral nutrients are certainly not
available in sufficient quantities to feed sub-Saharan Africa’s
current population of about 750 million—and that population will be
1.1 billion by 2020.
Mineral fertilizers are the only practical way to provide enough
plant nutrients to feed Africa and provide organic matter to restore
Africa’s nutrient-depleted soils. Also, it is difficult to guarantee
the optimal balance among, or quantity of, vital crop nutrients
using only organic sources. For example, providing enough nitrogen
for a crop by applying manure would mean adding four to five times
more potassium and phosphorus than is needed. Runoff can pollute
waterways and the life they support.
Mineral fertilizers are generally highly cost effective, but require
an up-front investment that may be difficult for small farmers
without credit. Ideally, mineral fertilizers should be used together
with organic fertilizers, which improve soil structure and the
soil’s water-holding capacity. Combined use may reduce the total
cost of improving soil fertility. The precision that manufactured
mineral fertilizers offer helps overcome the limitations of organic
fertilizer.
How have fertilizers benefited the world?
About half of the world’s population is alive today because of
increased food production fueled by mineral fertilizers. Fertilizers
and other inputs give the industrialized countries inexpensive food.
For example, the average US farm feeds about 150 Americans for a
year, with a balance to export worldwide. US citizens spend only
about 10 cents of each dollar on food, so they have 90 cents for
other things. Most rural families in Africa spend as much as
three-fourths of their income on food. Little is left for
necessities like education of children and health care.
The
Green Revolution—the dramatic increases in food production in Asia
and Latin America—was through higher yields, made possible through
improved seeds and inputs, especially mineral fertilizers. The Green
Revolution is credited with feeding more than 1 billion people in
Asia alone. The far lower increases in food production in Africa
have been mostly through bringing marginal land into production.
That further threatens Africa’s endangered wildlife.
Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, often called the “father of the
Green Revolution,” has called improved seeds the “catalysts that
ignited the Green Revolution” and mineral fertilizer the “fuel” that
powers it.
Isn’t it true that fertilizers can be environmentally
detrimental?
Poor
management of plant nutrients—whether as organic amendments or
mineral fertilizers—can mean loss of some nutrients to the
environment where they can upset the balance of natural ecosystems.
Nitrogen may also be lost as gases that affect the atmosphere. But
if a farmer uses appropriate agricultural practices, the crop will
absorb most applied fertilizer.
Using too few crop nutrients can also have devastating environmental
effects. In the 1930s—before mineral fertilizers were widely
used—nutrient depletion was widespread on many agricultural lands in
North America. The result was the “Dust Bowl” era, with its
extensive wind erosion and massive dust storms.
Africa today faces a soil fertility crisis. African soils are losing
an estimated $4 billion worth of soil nutrients yearly. Three-fourth
of the farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is plagued by severe nutrient
depletion, and 46% of the African continent suffers from
desertification. African farmers desperately need mineral
fertilizers to bring life back to the depleted soils, and to feed
the continent.
And
if production on existing farm land is not intensified, African
farmers will continue to bring marginal land into production—a
further threat to what remains of Africa’s precious wildlife and
forests.
Questions about African agriculture
Can Africa feed itself?
Agricultural production in sub-Saharan
Africa is hampered by low use of inputs such as improved seeds and
mineral fertilizers, low inherent soil fertility in much of the
continent, and nutrient-depleted soils. Farmers have traditionally
cleared land, grown a few crops, and then moved on to clear more
land, leaving the land fallow to regain its fertility. But a 3%
annual growth in population—among the world’s highest—now forces
farmers to grow crop after crop on the same land, “mining” or
depleting mineral nutrients from the soil while giving nothing back,
and to bring marginal land into production. Mineral fertilizers are
the only practical way to restore plant nutrients and bring life to
the severely depleted soils. But small-scale farmers, who comprise
the vast majority of the farming population, have little access to
fertilizers, and can’t always afford them. The African farmer must
pay two to four times the average world market price for
fertilizers. Worsening the problem are weak input and output
markets, unfavorable policies, corruption, poor transportation
systems, limited irrigation, and inadequate access to credit.
How does agriculture affect African economies?
Africa is a rural continent and agriculture is, by far, its most
important economic sector. More than 70% of Africa’s population is
directly engaged in agriculture. Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South
Africa) imported almost 20 million tons of cereal, at a cost of $4.4
billion, in 2004, according to the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization. By 2020 sub-Saharan Africa is projected to import more
than 34 million tons yearly, at a cost of $8.5 billion.
What are potential solutions to Africa’s agricultural crisis?
UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for a “uniquely African”
Green Revolution similar to the one that revolutionized agricultural
production in Asia and Latin America. The increased food production
was made possible by improved seeds and other inputs, especially
fertilizer. High-yielding varieties of key African crops are
available, but can produce well only if nutrients are available in
the soil to feed them. Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa today apply
about 8 kg per hectare yearly (excluding South Africa). Fertilizer
is essential to catalyze the new African Green Revolution by adding
nutrients and organic matter to improve crop production and restore
soil health. African farmers will use fertilizer, if they have
access at an affordable price—and if it is profitable. This means
ensuring fair prices for farm products.
Why are fertilizers so expensive in Africa?
It
is a cruel irony that a farmer in sub-Saharan Africa—where half the
population survives, somehow, on about 65 cents a day—must pay two
to four times the average world price for fertilizer. This is mainly
due to geography and poor infrastructure. Africa has few navigable
waterways, so bulky goods such as fertilizers must be transported
long distances overland—on bad road and rail systems. Africa has the
world’s fewest kilometers of paved roads per capita. For example,
Uganda has 94 km of paved road per 1 million people and Mozambique,
141 km. In contrast, France has 12,987 km of paved road per million
people and the United States, 20,987 km. Transporting fertilizers
from an African seaport to a farm 100 km inland costs more than to
ship those same fertilizers from North America to Africa. Also, the
current low demand for fertilizer in Africa reduces potential
economies of scale in procurement. Government policies, including
those affecting tariffs and trade, often contribute to high prices.
Corruption is another factor.
Why not give away fertilizer free in Africa?
Sustainable growth in agricultural production requires the
development of markets, for both agricultural inputs and for farm
products. In most African countries, less than a third of the food
produced enters into commercial marketing channels beyond the local
area. Also, it is often impossible for smallholder farmers to obtain
reasonably priced farm inputs such as fertilizer and improved seeds.
Simply giving fertilizer away would do nothing to develop the
market.
The
alternative is for African governments to adopt policies and develop
institutions that increase farmers’ purchasing power while also
increasing access to farm inputs. For example, new financing
arrangements could allow farmers to pool their resources, or make
credit available at low risk, or that provide “smart” subsidies
(rather than blank checks) to help farmers purchase fertilizer.
In
the case of the poorest farmers who truly have no other options, it
may make sense to begin by using market-friendly, targeted subsidies
for fertilizer, together with advice on its efficient use, to
jump-start a process of increased production and profits.
The Africa Fertilizer Summit
What is the Africa Fertilizer Summit, and why will it be held?
The
Africa Fertilizer Summit will be held 9─13 June 2006 in Abuja,
Nigeria. Its purpose is to develop a strategy to make vital plant
nutrients available to African farmers. Delegates will work to build
consensus around the key issues surrounding fertilizer use in
Africa, and agree on bold actions to facilitate the access of
millions of poor farmers to mineral fertilizers and complementary
inputs.
What are the objectives of the Africa Fertilizer Summit?
The
objectives are to:
affirm the critical importance of fertilizer in contributing to
rapid and sustainable pro-poor growth in agricultural productivity
in Africa,
review the status of fertilizer use in African agriculture and
identify the main constraints that poor farmers face in accessing
fertilizers,
assess innovative private sector approaches that have been used to
build infrastructure for markets that supply agricultural inputs to
the rural poor, and
agree on a strategy for developing an African Fertilizer Action
Plan to accelerate the access of millions of poor farmers to
mineral fertilizers and complementary inputs.
What outcomes are expected from the African Fertilizer Summit?
An
African Fertilizer Action Plan will be the salient outcome.
The plan will include:
·Prototype action plans
will be developed to alleviate key constraints to fertilizer use:
policy, regulatory, institutional, structural, and human capacity.
Partnerships and cross-country and sub-regional linkages will be
developed to encourage fertilizer use.
·Frameworks will be
recommended for developing, financing, and implementing the Africa
Fertilizer Action Plan. Action-oriented programs will be identified
in country and regional fertilizer strategy reports.
Will the Summit contribute to meeting the UN’s Millennium
Development Goals?
The
UN Millennium Development Goals are a blueprint agreed upon by the
world’s governments and leading development institutions to meet
needs of the earth’s poorest people by 2015. The Summit will
contribute to meeting at least four of the eight MDGs:
Goal 1.
Eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger. The Summit will
pave the way for the “uniquely African” Green Revolution called for
by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Increased productivity is
desperately needed in sub-Saharan Africa where half the population
survives on about 65 cents a day, and food imports cost $4.7 billion
yearly. The number of malnourished Africans has grown from about 88
million in 1970 to more than 200 million in 1999-2001. If the
current trend continues, 340 million people will live in abject
poverty by 2015.
Goal 3.
Promote gender equality and empower women.
Most African farmers are
women.
Goal 7.
Ensure environmental sustainability.
Judicious use of mineral
fertilizers will restore health to Africa’s nutrient-depleted soils.
Higher productivity per unit of land will slow the expansion of
farming into marginal land and thus, lessen the threat to Africa’s
endangered wildlife and forests.
Goal 8.
Develop a global partnership for
development. A global
cooperative effort of governments, the private sector, farmers
organizations, donor agencies, and NGOs will work to build consensus
around key issues concerning fertilizer use in Africa, and agree on
bold actions to facilitate the access of millions of poor farmers to
mineral fertilizers and complementary inputs.
Who is organizing the Africa Fertilizer Summit?
The
Summit is being convened by the African Union’s New Partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD). It will be chaired by His Excellency
Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria and Chair of the African
Union and of NEPAD’s Implementation Committee. The International
Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) is the
implementing agency, in close cooperation with NEPAD. The Federal
Republic of Nigeria will host the Summit. A Communications Strategy
Group has been formed to harness the power of information and
communications technology
Who will participate in the Summit?
The
Summit will bring together African heads of state, ministers, and
presidents; international donor organizations; private sector firms;
farmers’ organizations; senior policy makers; and bilateral and
multilateral development institutions. Farmers will share personal
perspectives on key issues.
Who is funding the Summit?
Funding agencies will include the Rockefeller Foundation, the
Department for International Development (DFID, UK), the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Partnership
to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG 2000),
and Agriterra. Corporate sponsors include the International
Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) and the Arab Fertilizer
Association (AFA).
How can I participate in the Summit?
Attendance is mainly by invitation, but there may be some
self-selected participants. These prospective participants may apply
by completing and submitting a Summit registration form, which is
available on the Summit web site at www,africafertilizersummit.org.
Is support available for participants?
The
Summit has limited funds, but some support has been made available
to key participants such as farmers organizations and speakers.
How can I support the Africa Fertilizer Summit?
Organizations may support the Summit as donors or as corporate
sponsors. For information about these programs, go to:
http://www.africafertilizersummit.org/Donors/index.html.
Individuals who wish to support the Summit financially should
contact the Summit Secretariat at: AFS.secretariat@IFDC.org |
