Nutrient Stewardship &
Sustainable Fertilizer Use Dr. Shamie ZingoreInternational Plant Nutrition Institute, Sub-Saharan Africa Program
Dr. Steve Phillips International Plant Nutrition Institute, North America Program
FERTASA 58th Annual Congress 201819 April 2018, Kempton Park, South Africa
Outline
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4
3
4
1
2
3
4
Global impact of fertilizer
Sustainable fertilizer use and future challenges
4R Nutrient Stewardship and Sustainable fertilizer use in global regions
Concluding remarks
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4
Fertilizer industry science-based organization
Research and development focused on sustainable management of plant nutrition
- Applied plant nutrition research
- Capacity building
- Knowledge management & dissemination
- Member company support
① The International Plant Nutrition Institute
Member Companies Affiliate Members
① The International Plant Nutrition Institute
① Global impact of fertilizer
Fertilizer use intensity (kg/ha arable land)
Aver
age
cere
al cr
op y
ield
(kg/
ha)
Source: https://ourworldindata.org
Crop yields and food security
Fertilizer contributionfor global yields
60%
Social & economic development↗Land degradation prevention ❌
① Global impact of fertilizerLand preservation
0
50
100
150
200
250
0
1
2
3
4
5
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Ferti
lizer
con
sum
ptio
n
(m
illion
T n
utrie
nts)
Cul
tivat
ed la
nd (b
illion
ha)
Series2 Series3 Series1
Land spared by fertilizer use
2.4 b ha
① Global impact of fertilizerEnvironmental challenges
Greenhouse gas emission
Eutrophication
Ground water contamination
Fertilizer manufacture and nitrous oxide emissions
Nitrogen and phosphorus losses to water bodies
Nitrogen leaching in intensively fertilized regions
Leaching
Gas l
osse
s
Erosion
② Sustainable fertilizer use and future challenges
0
300
600
900
1200
Sub-SaharanAfrica
World South AsiaNum
ber u
nder
nour
ishe
d x
106 1990 2014
6,1 7,2 6,8
0,922,1 3,8
0
3
6
9
12
2015 2050 2100
Popu
latio
n x
109
Rest of world Sub-Saharan Africa
The food security challenge
0
0,1
0,2
0,3
1990 2050
Arab
le la
nd (h
a/pe
rson
)
The land challenge
② Sustainable fertilizer use and future challenges
The climate challenge Attainable yields projected to
decrease by 15% in Africa
- Maize ⬇ 15%- Rice ⬇ 11%- Wheat ⬇ 34%
Crop production must double to meet future food requirements by a population of 2 bn
② Sustainable fertilizer use and future challenges
Sustainable intensification Increased productivity on existing land and virgin land protection
Sequesters atmospheric C
Minimizes negative environmental impacts
Achieve social and economic goals
② Sustainable fertilizer use and future challenges
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
4R Nutrient Stewardship
4R Nutrient Stewardship: Principles & application
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
4R Nutrient Stewardship: Principles & application
Specific scientific principles apply to fertilizer BMPs defined by 4Rs Applicable as a group and individually. All 4Rs must be right! Principles are both global and applicable at the farm management
level. Application differ widely depending on the specific cropping
system (region and crop combination) under consideration.
The principles are universal, but their application must be adapted to the local context at different scales.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Brazil/SA
North America
India
NUE =N output
----------------------Sum of N inputs
Fertilizer-N+ Manure-N recycled+ Crop BNF+ Atmospheric deposition+ (irrigation, biosolids…)
Source: IFA (Adapted from Zhang et al., 2015)
Nut
rien
t use
effi
cien
cy
Income level
100%Hypothetical limit to NUE
China
4R Nutrient Stewardship: Global production systems
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Global increase in NUE to achieve food security and environmental stewardship goals in 2050
80%
0.72
0.30 0.25
0.68
0.4-0.5
Nutrient mining
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Case I North America: High yields + High FUE
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Mai
ze g
rain
yie
ld, b
u/A
Double-X to single-X hybrids
Expansion of irrigated area, increased N fertilizer rates
Soil testing, balanced NPK fertilization, conservation tillage
Transgenic (Bt) pest resistance
Integrated pest management
Precision fertilization and high-speed planters
Auto-steer tractors
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Case I North America: High yields + High FUE
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Case I North America: 4R Priority and Focus
Facilitating ‘big & small data’ stewardship
Advanced precision agriculture technologies
4R incorporation into college curriculums & Certified Crop Advisors programs
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Case II India: moderate yields + low FUE
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
Yie
ld (k
g/ha
)
Area
and
Pro
duct
ion
Area (mha)Production (mt)Yield (kg/ha)
20
30
40
50
60
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
N use efficiency
?
PFP N
(kg
grai
n/kg
N)
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Case II India: 4R Priority and Focus
Research and policy interventions to support balanced fertilizer use
- Adequate K application rates
- Limiting secondary and micronutrients
Establish and promote guidelines on right time to match crop demand, split applications
Right place to match the spatial pattern of crop demand and to protect sensitive areas
Scale smallholder on-farm 4R nutrient management in major cereals through decision support tools
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Case II India: 4R Priority and Focus
Nutrient Use (kg ha-1) Maize yield (t ha-1)N P2O5 K2O
Andhra Pradesh State
Current Practice 288 153 68 8
Nutrient Expert recommendation
203 54 74 10
Improving yields, fertilizer use efficiency and profits using IPNI’s ‘Nutrient Expert’ 4R-based decision support tool
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Case III Sub-Saharan Africa: low yields + nutrient mining
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
Fert
ilize
r N u
se (k
g/ha
)
0
2
4
6
8
10
Mai
ze y
ield
s (t/
ha)
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
Case III Sub-Saharan Africa: 4R Priority and Focus
Increased fertilizer use
Balanced fertilizer use- Secondary and micronutrients
Integrated soil fertility management to rehabilitate degraded soils
Source, rate, time and place adaptation to climate change
Knowledge dissemination to support adoption of 4Rs
0,4 1,02,8 3,72,7 2,0
1,7 0,82,21,2
1,2 1,6
0
2
4
6
8
MaizeBurundi44 Sites
MaizeMozambique
17 Sites
MaizeRwanda North
17 Sites
MaizeRwanda East
59 Sites
Mai
ze y
ield
, t h
a-1
Secondary/micronutrient yield incrementNPK yield incrementControl
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
4R Nutrient Stewardship: Training & knowledge transfer
Training programs for specific regions
- Researchers- Students- Extension systems and
crop advisors- Farmers
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
4R Nutrient Stewardship: Training & knowledge transfer
③ 4R Nutrient Stewardship & Sustainable fertilizer use
4R Nutrient Stewardship: Future innovations
Precision agriculture supported by data science and geospatial analytics
Rapid and cost effective diagnostics using spectroscopy based tools
Fertilizer nanotechnology
Integration of fertilizer with bio-products
THANK YOU
Dr Shamie Zingore| [email protected]
Nutrient Stewardship is
at the core of sustainable
utilization of finite
agricultural resources to
support growing global
demands for food, feed,
fuel and fiber.
④ Concluding remarks