Souhail Karam, Reuters, 19th April 2012
Demand for fertilisers from the poorly-fed African continent is on the rise but still has some way to go before crop yields rise to levels that can significantly cut reliance on food imports, delegates to a fertilisers conference said on Thursday. The United Nations predicts the continent's population will double over the next four decades to almost 2 billion, spurring a more rapid rise in demand for staples, such as rice and cereals...
Read More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/19/fertilisers-africa-idUSL6E8FJF...
James Wellstead, Business Insider, 17th February, 2012
Despite receiving less press than the oil and gas industry, the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region is a major player in the phosphate market, with more than 80 percent of the world’s phosphate reserves. Controlled predominantly by state-run organizations, many of these countries could soon become game changers in world phosphate and fertilizer supply. However, many of these same countries must first adapt to the seismic political transitions and challenges miring mineral development in the region.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/political-risks-in-mena-phosphate-markets...
Poppy McPherson, The Independent, 9th September, 2011
"World-class" phosphate deposits, larger than those of any country other than Morocco, have been found in Iraq, the US Geological Surveyhas revealed.The four biggest deposits make up 9 per cent of global reserves, at 5.75 billion tonnes, it says. The findings are a result of joint work by Iraqi authorities and the US Geological Survey to map non-oil mineral resources and diversify an economy heavily reliant on oil production. Greg Fernette, from the US Geological Survey, told a London conference that the two biggest deposits, Akashat and Swab – said to hold 1.7 billion and 3.5 billion tonnes of phosphate respectively – were "fantastic". While the purity fell slightly below the 25 per cent average, higher grade material was present, he said.
Fred Pearce, freelance journalist, 7th July 2011
Phosphate has been essential to feeding the world since the Green Revolution, but its excessive use as a fertilizer has led to widespread pollution and eutrophication. Now, many of the world’s remaining reserves are starting to be depleted. If you wanted to really mess with the world’s food production, a good place to start would be Bou Craa, located in the desert miles from anywhere in the Western Sahara. They don’t grow much here, but Bou Craa is a mine containing one of the world’s largest reserves of phosphate rock. Most of us, most days, will eat some food grown on fields fertilized by phosphate rock from this mine. And there is no substitute.
Samuel Hinneh, SciDev.Net, 13th May 2011
Accra — A female Ghanaian scientist is one of four researchers from developing countries who received US$100,000 each to pursue their dream ideas for solving global health problems. Olufunke Cofie, a soil scientist at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research's Challenge Program on Water and Food will develop fertiliser pellets from treated human waste to boost agricultural productivity and improve sanitation. She is one of the latest 88 winners in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges in Global Health programme, funded through the Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) initiative, which include scientists from Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya and the Philippines. "Recycling readily available excrement has the potential to both reduce the environmental pollution burden and prolong the lifespan of [waste] treatment plants, while also significantly improving soil productivity," Cofie told SciDev.Net.
Tom Nordlie, University of Florida, 11th May, 2011
Phosphate poses one of Florida’s ongoing water-quality challenges but a process developed by University of Florida researchers could provide an affordable solution, using partially burned organic matter called biochar to remove the mineral.The process also yields methane gas usable as fuel and phosphate-laden carbon suitable for enriching soil, according to Bin Gao and Pratap Pullammanappallil, assistant professors in UF’s agricultural and biological engineering department, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Crop wastes would provide raw material for the biochar. A laboratory study demonstrating the effectiveness of biochar for phosphate removal appears in the current issue of the journal Bioresource Technology.
The study involved beet tailings, which are culled beets, scraps and weeds removed from shipments of sugar beets destined for processing to make sugar, said Gao, one of the authors. In the U.S., sugar beets are grown primarily in the Northeast and upper Midwest, but the technology can be adapted to other materials, he said. “It’s really sustainable,” Gao said. “We will see if it can be commercialized.” [Click link to read full article]
Tim Lougheed, Environmental Health Perspectives, 1st May, 2011
In between shepherding the United States through the Great Depression and bracing the country for war in Europe, then-President Franklin Roosevelt took a moment in 1938 to tell Congress about phosphorus.1 More specifically, he spoke about phosphates, the most commonly commercially exploited form of phosphorus. Roosevelt’s was not a scientific presentation but a cautious alert about the critical role this element plays in agricultural production. Private interests were exporting increasing amounts of the country’s phosphates to markets abroad, he warned. Given the prospect that this vital constituent of fertilizer could come into short supply domestically, Roosevelt recommended framing a formal policy to deal with a strategic issue.
Bartley Kives, Winnipeg Free Press, 23rd April, 2011
The City of Winnipeg will bury approximately 13,000 tonnes of treated sewage in the Brady Road Landfill this year to comply with provincial regulations that forced the city to stop spreading the sludge over croplands. But this disposal method is temporary, as Winnipeg's water and waste department is preparing to build a new biosolids plant that will allow the city to convert treated sewage into compost, electricity or an environmentally acceptable form of agricultural fertilizer. Up until this year, the City of Winnipeg disposed of biosolids -- the waste-management industry term for the semi-solid substance commonly known as treated sewage sludge -- by spreading the material over farmers' fields. Farmers were not charged for the fertilizer-rich material, which is comprised of both waste and the remains of the beneficial bacteria used to digest it as part of the sewage-treatment process [Click link for full article..]
Mark Horstman, ABC, 17th March, 2011
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Science program, Catalyst, aired a Special Edition on Food Security, including a segment on peak phosphorus. This is the third documentary on peak phosphorus airing on national TV (together with Swedish Television (SVT) and Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). The story can be viewed at: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3166841.htm and extended interviews with Luc Maene and Dana Cordell at: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/food/
Zeddy Sambu, Daily Business, 8th March 2011
Small-scale farmers will enjoy a Sh1,000 rebate per bag of fertiliser during this planting season under a subsidy meant to boost food security and cushion growers against high international prices. The low prices, however, will only be secured through the National Cereals and Produce Board, the only agency allowed to distribute the fertiliser under a Sh4.3 billion scheme. With the subsidy, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) or planting fertiliser, and top dresser NPK will each cost Sh2,500 for a 50-kg bag while CAN — a top dresser for cereals, and UREA, will cost Sh1,600 per bag, the Agriculture ministry said in a notice published on Monday. [Click link for full article..]
