U.S. President Barack Obama visited the 2013 Feed the Future (FTF) Agricultural Technology Marketplace in Senegal, which showcased West African businesses, farmers and non-governmental organizations that demonstrated how the FTF initiative is improving the lives of smallholder farmers. IFDC representatives discussed the benefits of fertilizer deep placement (FDP).
“I know that…fertilizer doesn’t always make for sexy copy,” remarked Obama, standing in front of IFDC’s FDP-themed booth. He insisted that while technical details of nourishing the hungry do not make headlines, people should know that their hard work and generosity are helping Africa rise out of poverty.
FDP, developed by IFDC nearly 40 years ago, is the placement of a 1- to 3-gram fertilizer briquette into the soil near a plant’s root zone, either by hand or mechanical applicator. FDP increases farmers’ yields and incomes, requires less fertilizer overall and reduces nutrient loss and environmental impact.
