International Fertilizer Development Center

Active Countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia

The East and South Africa Division (ESAFD) of IFDC handles areas where previous farming techniques are no longer adequate for the growing population they serve. ESAFD works to improve farmers’ access to quality seeds and fertilizers as well as markets to cover their costs. The effort also educates farmers in Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) to improve soil conditions.

Active Countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

The North and West Africa Division (NWAFD) of IFDC covers an area of Africa of about 520 million people, more than half of whom are directly affected by its programs. These programs include demonstrations fields where farmers receive hands-on training and experience with new and specialized fertilizer, seed, crop protection and irrigation research. Through the use of voucher programs called “smart subsidies,” farmers can receive quality supplies in a timely manner and be supported at harvest time.

Active Countries: Bangladesh, Myanmar

The EurAsia Division (EAD) of IFDC focuses on countries with little land suitable for farming where farmers’ yields steadily decrease over time due to crop quality and quantity. EAD hopes to reverse these issues by addressing specific financial, market, and agricultural needs. The division teaches farmers about Fertilizer Deep Placement (FDP), a method which has previously raised crop yields by 20 percent and decreased nitrogen losses by 40 percent.

The Office of Programs conducts research and development projects dedicated to improving fertilizer efficiency. It offers consultation to national governments as well as private sector organizations with regard to critical domains such as supply/demand and policy issues.

During the mid to late 1980s, IFDC began research in India on several fertilizer types, one being the IFDC-developed fertilizer deep placement (FDP) technology, which was shown at the time to decrease nitrogen losses by 9% on sorghum crops. In 1986, the Center introduced FDP in Bangladesh where IFDC has promoted the technology ever since. Farmers are now using the technology on 1.7 million acres in that country alone. In 2007, IFDC began a new FDP campaign, spreading the technology to sub-Saharan Africa.[9]

FDP involves "briquetting" nitrogen fertilizer by compacting prilled fertilizer into 1-3 gram briquettes. The briquettes (either urea- or NPK-based) are then placed in a plant's root zone, as opposed to the traditional application method of broadcasting. Trials have shown that FDP and UDP (when only urea is used) can increase crop production up to 36 percent, reduce fertilizer use by up to 38 percent, and reduce nitrogen losses by up to 40 percent.[10]

The technology, mainly promoted in lowland flooded rice, showed promising results in reducing nitrogen runoff, so in 2012, IFDC began research in Bangladesh to quantify GHG emissions produced from using FDP. Through the USAID-funded Accelerating Agricultural Productivity Improvement project, which integrated the U.S. government's Global Climate Change Initiative into its Feed the Future Initiative, research is currently underway.[11]

Phosphorus is a key component of fertilizer, along with nitrogen and potassium. Predicting the future event of peak phosphate in which production of phosphate rock begins to decline as resources dwindle, researchers estimated that world phosphorus supplies would be used up by 2030 if mined and processed at its present rates. Depletion of this material would be a major complication for the fertilizer production sector.

In 2010, IFDC geologist Steven Van Kauwenburgh estimated the world's supply of phosphate rock at 60 billion metric tons[12] in the publication World Phosphate Rock Reserves and Resources. By his estimates, global resources of phosphate rock suitable to produce phosphate rock concentrate, phosphoric acid, phosphate fertilizers and other phosphate-based products will be available for several hundred years. His estimation overshadowed previous estimates of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) by 44 billion tons.[13] Upon review and intense scrutiny of the information in the report, the USGS revised its world phosphate rock reserve and resource numbers to more closely reflect those stated in the report.[14]

IFDC trains farmers to participate effectively in a global market while facing challenges in their specific local communities. This training works both with farming techniques on a hands-on agricultural level and with commercial concepts on an agribusiness level.

CASE consolidates local stakeholders to encourage innovation and growth while also developing a commodity value chain and involving public and private entities. IFDC developed CASE in 2004 to further promote agricultural intensification and strengthen the integration of farmers and local entrepreneurs.[15]

DSTs help farmers apply agricultural research based on geography and markets by using crop modeling and analyses of soil, weather and market information to increase yields and profits. IFDC has aided in the development of several tools, including the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT).[16]

FDP involves "briquetting" nitrogen fertilizer by compacting prilled fertilizer into 1-3 gram briquettes. The briquettes (either urea- or NPK-based) are then placed in a plant's root zone, as opposed to the traditional application method of broadcasting. Trials have shown that FDP and UDP (when only urea is used) can increase crop production up to 36 percent, reduce fertilizer use by up to 38 percent, and reduce nitrogen losses by up to 40 percent.[17]

ISFM adapts agricultural practices to specific areas and their respective conditions to maximize agricultural efficiency and productivity.

Market development efforts consist of developing output markets for farmers to sell their surplus produce, which can thus create an input market from which farmers can buy the necessary supplies such as seeds, fertilizers and crop protection products.

PPPs accomplish tasks together that neither public sector institutions nor private sector organizations could accomplish individually.

On June 9–13, 2006 heads of state and governments gathered in Abuja, Nigeria, for the Africa Fertilizer summit and called for the elimination of all taxes and tariffs on fertilizer in the historic “Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for an African Green Revolution”. Summit participants also agreed on 12 resolutions designed to increase fertilizer use five-fold in 10 years in the Abuja Declaration.[18] IFDC helped organize and to implement the Summit. Dr. Amit Roy, then president and CEO of IFDC, in a corporate report address on the Summit stated, “The obstacles to agricultural development in Africa are enormous and long-standing. Human, institutional and research capacity, as well as physical infrastructure, must be built to enable Africa to compete effectively. Policies should be changed to encourage business investment. Furthermore, as history has demonstrated, countries must take charge of their own futures if they are to build better futures for their children.”[19] The Summit was attended by 1,100 participants including five African heads of state, 15 ministers of agriculture, 17 members of the Summit's Eminent Persons Advisory Committee, and hundreds of leaders of international organizations, agricultural research centers and private sector companies.[20] The Abuja Declaration was written at the conclusion of the Africa Fertilizer Summit on June 13, 2006, in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Global TraPs initiative brings together experts from a multitude of fields to build knowledge on how humans can make steps towards using phosphorus in a sustainable manner. The multi-stakeholder initiative is headed by Dr. Amit H. Roy, then IFDC president and CEO, and Dr. Roland W. Scholz, of Fraunhofer IWKS. More than 200 other partners worldwide participate in the project.[21] Recently, Global TraPs published a Springer book titled Sustainable Phosphorus Management: A Global Transdisciplinary Roadmap. The book discusses the economic scarcity of phosphorus and ways to increase efficiency and reduce environmental impacts of anthropogenic phosphorus flows at every stage of production, supply and use.

The VFRC was an IFDC research initiative designed to create and disseminate the “next generation” of fertilizers.[22] The initiative, through a virtual network, engaged universities, public and private research laboratories and the global fertilizer and agribusiness industries in the development of new fertilizers. Past work focused on biological solutions to plant and human nutrition.[23]