After almost two weeks and six states, our biggest international training program of 2016 is complete. From August 22 to September 3, IFDC hosted and coordinated the stay of more than 40 innovative farmers, agronomists, soil scientists, researchers, and extension agents as they explored various agricultural technologies and participated in training sessions across the South and Midwest United States. Titled “Advances…
A version of the following article appeared in the July/August 2016 edition of Fertilizer Focus. The African Union’s (AU) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), launched in 2004, committed the AU to working with African governments to allocate 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture to attain a 6 percent annual growth rate in the agriculture sector and a…
In our previous blog, Fertilizer – A Foundation for Food Security, we discussed the history of fertilizer, from its origins to its modern uses in combating crises of food security. Today, fertilizer is a globally distributed commodity in high demand. It is as important to the smallholder farmers’ business as the seeds they plant or the tools they use for…
The history of the modern world, from the period of industrialization on, has been characterized by a rapidly growing population and the struggle to accelerate food production to sustain that population. This struggle has manifested itself, repeatedly, in tragic episodes of human suffering centered on food and nutrition. The Great Famine in Ireland, the Indian Famine of 1899, and various…
A major factor limiting use of quality fertilizers for enhanced agricultural productivity is the unavailability of properly packaged and labeled fertilizers in quantities small-scale farmers can afford. Most often, fertilizers available on the market are packaged in 50 kg bags and sold at prices not usually affordable to many small-scale farmers, effectively preventing them from applying fertilizers on their farms.…
The USAID Scaling Up Fertilizer Deep Placement and Microdosing Technologies in Mali (FDP-MD) project increases food security and farm incomes.
Roy delivered the Francis New Memorial Lecture during the IFS Technical Conference on June 23 in London. His topic was ‘Global Fertiliser Industry: Transitioning from Volume to Value.
IFDC featured in the Times Daily – “IFDC is researching ways to efficiently provide plants with micronutrients that help the plant and, ultimately, the humans who consume them.”
The Council of the International Fertiliser Society (IFS) has awarded the 2015 Francis New Memorial Medal to Dr. Amit Roy, president and CEO of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC).
In our previous blog, we spoke about the vital role secondary and micronutrients (SMNs) play in cultivating a healthy crop. Most fertilizers are already designed to provide the foundational elements for growth (nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus), but many fail to include SMNs such as iron and zinc. For a plant to truly flourish, it must have a balanced application of…
