Mineral Fertilizer Use and the Environment International Fertilizer Industry Association United Nations Environment Programme

The International Agri-Food Network
Whereas the focus of environmental pressures on
the fertilizer industry in the 1970s and 1980s
was essentially localized, with problems such as
those associated with eutrophication of surface
waters by phosphates and nitrates, and nitrates in
drinking water, the new environmental agenda is
more regional and global in nature. For example,
the impact of N
2
0 emissions, not just from
fertilizer production, but also from agricultural
activities in general, is of increasing concern in
the analysis of greenhouse gases and climate
change. Other issues and factors influencing the
drive towards sustainable agricultural production
concern the growing significance of
biotechnological advances in crop production and
the use of waste in modern farming systems.
None of these issues is specific to the fertilizer
industry, neither as causative factors nor in
potential solutions.
As the international community, including the
United Nations, addresses these global problems,
through organizations such as the FAO, the UN
Commission on Sustainable Development-
UNCSD, the Conventions on Biodiversity and
Climate Change, etc., it is increasingly important
for all agribusiness sectors to coordinate their
activities to ensure that their role is
acknowledged objectively, alongside others such
as environmental NGOs which regard organic
agriculture as the only solution to sustainable
food production.
In an effort to integrate fertilizer issues with
those of other industry sectors, such as seeds,
crop protection, farmers’ organizations and
cooperatives, livestock and food distribution and
processing, IFA was instrumental in forming the
International Agri-Food Network, IAFN, an
informal panel of all elements in the food chain.

---

Mineral Fertilizer Use and the Environment