afa report - issue 3 trialarabfertilizer.org/afa_public_directory/new_uploads/pdf/afa report... ·...

investors. This success will be rooted in strategic planning, international standards, a committedworkforce that is inspired, engaged, creative and de-.livers, and sustainable social development

SAFCO has invested in many expansion projects and become one of the largest industrial complexesin the Middle East. It is a major producer of agricul-

tural nutrients, which are produced according to the help achieve the Kingdom’s economic, social and .environmental objectives

“Responsible Competitiveness” at a ceremony held under the patronage of the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, in the presence of a distinguished prize committee on

-tainable development and corporate social responsi- bility and it is our privilege to be selected amongst the best companies under the King Khalid Award.criteria Ahmed Al-Jabr, SAFCO President, said that the prestigious award marks the company’s -50year journey of success, demonstrates progress on the right path, and highlights continuing efforts to servethe community. He commended the Board of Direc-tors focus on expanding safely, sustainably to deliv- er value to shareholders and develop national talent.for SAFCO Al-Jabr extended his appreciation to all employees and thanked the Board of Directors for their supportand remarkable contribution to this great achieve- .ment

WinsKing Khalid Award for“ResponsibleCompetitiveness”

SAFCO

News Reportá``اdhO á``اHôY á``؛&>e

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Issue 3 January 2016

Good afternoon distinguished colleagues,• I am pleased to be here today on behalf of the International Fertilizer Industry Association and I would like to thank the organizers for giving me the opportunity to speak on the important topic of a sustainable food future in the context of agricultural production.• Today I will be focusing on increas-ing the productivity of smallholder farmers through access to inputs, and extension via viable public-pri-vate partnerships. I will also touch upon how policy measures around educationand innovation can enhance a global sustainable food system.• Before that, allow me to tell you a little about my organization: IFA is the only international association representing the global fertilizer industry in over 85 countries world-wide. IFA member companies repre-sent all activities related to the production and distribution of every type of fertilizer, their raw materials and intermediates, as well as service providers to the industry and research organizations and NGOs.• The global fertilizer industry produc-es some 170 million tons of fertilizer nutrients annually. These are used in every corner of the globe to supportsustainable agricultural production and food security. It is estimated that one half of our food supply would not exist without fertilizers. With global population projection expect-ed to surpass 9 billion by 2050, including the doubling of popula-tion on the African continent, produc-ing enough food to feed everyone in

a manner that does not jeopardize the environment or threaten �nite resources will be the main challenge in the coming years. There is already a worrisome yield gap in many regions of the world, especially devel-oping ones. The “yield gap” repre-sents the di�erence between farm-ers’ actual and attainable yields. Balanced fertilization playsa key role in closing the yield gap. This is particularly relevant in Sub-Sa-haran Africa, where the average maize yield is only one �fth of the attainable yield. One cause for this is severe underuse of fertilizers. In most of Sub-Saharan Africa fertilizer application rates are below 10 kg/ha, while the global average for fertilizer use is about 100 kg/ ha.Small farmers around the world urgently need fertilizers to become more productive in order to:• grow enough and more nutritious food;• become reliable suppliers;• increase their incomes and improve their lives in ruraareas;• create jobs and new economic opportunities for theyouth;• reduce gender inequalities by giving women access to productive resourc-es;• protect our ecosystems and be resilient against climate change.• By providing farmers with the right nutrients for their crops, production can increase and the additional income derived from more plentiful crops will fuel additional growth and development in the local and region-al economies.

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Presentation by Dr. Abdulrahman JawaheryPresented in "A Sustainable Food Future"

International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA)

Dr. Abdulrahman Jawahery

I am always startled by the fact that 75% of the world’s poor live in rural areas, which means that there are many farmers who do not grow enough food to sustain their families and cannot a�ord to buy additional food.• Research has demonstrated that de�ciencies in nutrients reduce crop yields by 40-60%, but also a�ect the health of people who live in areas with high micronutrient de�ciencies. Adding micronu-trients such as zinc and iodine to fertilizers can increase the content and bioavailability of missing micronutrients, thus diminishing an array of human health risks, in particular diarrhea among children.• The industry’s commitment towards combatting malnutrition as well as micronutrient de�ciencies makes us a strong supporter of the UN Secretary General’s Zero Hunger Challenge. IFA was one of the �rst industries to adopt formally and tailor the 5 pillars to the speci�cs of the fertilizer industry. Likewise, we have been very actively involved in the development of the SDGs, in particular Goal 2 on sustainable agriculturalsystems, which stresses the importance of access of farmers to agricultural inputs.• We are grateful for this tremendous engagement opportunity with an array of experts provided by Chatham House. Forums such as this one are powerful platforms for discussion and exchange towards advancing change and progress through sharing of best practices and innovative ideas and processes. Working in silos is not an option anymore. Achieving progress requires a global partnership between all stakeholders private or public. A need for strengthened research and easy to access data will also fuel the design and imple-mentation as well as the scaling up of successful initiatives.• Many of our members are already on the ground providing extension services and facilitating �nancing initiatives such as One Acre Fund to expand smallholder access to fertilizer and AFAP (African Fertilizer Agribusiness Partnership) which provides badly needed �nancing to the fertilizer value chain in Africa, and with which IFA partners on the African Fertilizer Volunteer Program (AFVP): The African Volunteer Program brings fertilizer experts from around the world to work

alongside retailers, agronomists and farmers in Africa. Moving on to the areas of education, research and innovation, I am compelled to highlight that in no other sector but agriculture are the knock-on e�ects of private investment on economic development more visible.• It has been demonstrated that investing in agricultural research brings by far the best return on investment on poverty alleviation. Farmers tend to make up the poorest fringes of the popula-tion worldwide. Farmers are net food buyers and thus more dependent on price �uctuations, while at the same time producing the food we eat. By bringing farmers out of poverty we can achieve goals relating to gender equality, education, health, and economic opportunities. Farmers are entrepreneurs, and other private actors have a key role to play in making sure that more smallholders move out of subsistence farming to become commercial farmers.• Investment-driven measures can moreover target speci�c groups, such as smallholders and women, and facilitate their access to agricultural �nance, training, capacity building, knowledge transfer and innovative practices.• At the same time, the food and agriculture sector has enormous potential for environmentally sustainable development. All actors in the agri-food supply chain face the same need to produce more with less. We need to make better use of our arable land and produce more nutri-tious crops from the same acreage. While the solutions will di�er by region and by landscape, we will need to adapt to this new reality of sustain-able agricultural intensi�cation.• Part of it is the development and dissemination of best practices, and industry-wide standards, such as the nutrient stewardship initiatives from the fertilizer sector. We know that not all nutrients applied are taken up by the plants since we are dealing with biological systems, but the fertilizer industry is actively working to reduce nutrient losses to the environment. The industry has and continues to be engaged in scienti�c research to arrive at site and soil speci�c best fertilizer management practices and in outreach and dissemination to farmers of these BMPs.




It is hugely important to ensure that farmers around the world get trained on using the right fertilizer products at the right rate, right time and right place – that’s a program the industry has called the 4Rs. This is a good example of where many actors have to come together to address a signi�cant challenge. The industry alone cannot reach out to the millions of smallholders worldwide. We are keen to increase our collaboration withfarmer groups, other players in the agri-food value chain, agronomic research institutions and with governments.• IFA members are shoring up and improving their production capacity, creating more tailored, so-called “specialty fertilizers” and promoting smart-er sustainable crop nutrition practices like the 4Rs. To do these things well, our member companies also need an enabling environment to conduct better business. This is where governments have a role in fostering peace and stability, tackling corrup-

tion and undertaking infrastructure projects that will enable private actors to better work towards a sustainable food system.•• To accomplish goals such as closing the gender gap by facilitating women’s access to productive inputs, combatting malnutrition caused by micronu-trient de�ciencies, facilitating inclusive growth for smallholder farmers by building up a vibrant fertiliz-er supplychain… , all this will require solid and well-function-ing programs and partnerships that IFA will contin-ue to build and promote for asustainable global food system.Thank you.





AFA Workshop on Quality Control and Assurance in Maintenance in Fertilizer Industry

23-25 November 2015, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Based on the goals established by AFA performance development strategic plan, aiming at enhancing productivity through technical development and quali�cation as well as expanding fertilizer factories' capacities, AFA organized in cooperation with AFA member Oman India Fertilizer Company a work-shop titled "Qualify Control and Assurance in Mainte-nance in Fertilizer Industry", in Muscat, Oman, during the period 23 – 35 November 2015.

The Workshop via exchanging expertise and information, targets raising the awareness of and providing knowledge to the participants' in the following �elds:- Highlighting maintenance management, quality and productivity �elds;- Setting electronic maintenance systems to ensure quality maintenance results;- Identifying methods and basics of performance e�ciency evaluation for maintenance process and team;- Pinpointing the impact of engineering inspection and periodical maintenance on fertilizer factories' productivity;- Communicating and exchanging expertise regard-ing maintenance best practices applied by AFA member companies.

The Workshop included a number of essential topics:- Periodical maintenance and impact of preventive maintenance programs- Integration of maintenance and production process-es- Predictive maintenance and impact on reliability- Impact of e�ective preventive maintenance- Maintenance of major rotating equipment- Computerizing maintenance process management- Failure mode e�ects analysis- Maintenance auditing process- Maintenance risk management- Maintenance Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)- Erosion in high temperatures- Presentation of distinguished Arab fertilizers compa-nies experiences in maintenance �eld

More than 60 attendants from AFA members will participate, from Oman, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, KSA and Tunisia.

Also, the 103rd Board meeting will be held parallel to the Workshop. The meeting will discuss a number of issues, important of which 2016 plan and budget, and will follow up the implementation of strategic programs and plans concerned with the development of AFA performance e�ciency.

In this occasion, AFA would like to extend deep appre-ciation to Engineer Hamad Al-Hashemi, AFA Board member and General Director, region representative of Sultanate of Oman as well as it would like to express gratitude to Oman India Fertilizer Company sta� for their support to such a technical workshop proceed-ings.


HSE AWARD

Since its inception in 1975, the Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA) as a non-pro�table and non-governmental Arab International Organization, AFA is maintaining a very strong focus on health, safety and environmental (HSE) issues. In its quest for the development of Arab fertilizer industrial base and contributing to Global Food Securi-ty, the Association is launching a new award titled the AFA HSE Award. The �rst ever Award scheduled for awarding in February 2010. The award aims at recognizing member companies that strive in continually improv-ing its health, safety and environmental (HSE) performance or demonstrated a sustained and continued outstanding HSE performance for at least �ve years period

2015 Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) AFA award went for

Petrochemical Industries Co. (PIC) – Kuwait

It is worth mentioning that PIC won the same award in 2009


Nutri-FactsAgronomic Facts Sheets On Crop Nutrients

ZINC


Fertilizer and Water for Sustainable AgricultureDr. Muhammad Tahir Saleem,

Editor of Farming Outlook is the only English quarterly magazine in Pakistan

Agriculture, a source of food for both man and cattle, is as old a profession as the dawn of mankind. The ancient Egypt – etymologically black land (kemet): rich soil deposited by the Nile – thrived for thousands of years as Egyptian civilization, which the Greek historian Herodotus called “the gift of the Nile”. Thus, fertile soils and water are the vital components of any sustaina-ble agricultural production systems. The subject being important has, therefore, been attempt-ed by the people of all ages, from Columella’s Husbandry in AD 60 to the recent publications of 2015 . And one is confounded to charter a new course of discourse in the face of vast and voluminous contributions available on the components of the subject. The current scenario, the sustainability of the system, implying producing more with less and yet compatible with the dictates of economic, ecological and social considerations, makes the matters worse: a daunting tall order! Nevertheless one has to wade through water, plough through soils and muddle through the maze of plants to �nd a way out.

Water – That sustains lifeThat water is life, is the word of God: From the Qur’an: There are numerous verses on the subject, for example:

- And We made from water everything living (21:30)- And you see the earth barren. But when We send down (rain) water upon it, it quivers and swells, and brings forth plants of every joyous kind (22:5).- Let man consider his food! How We pour the water down in torents and cleave the land asunder to produce thereby grains, and vines and vegetables, and olives and palms, and dense gardens, and fruits and fodders, all for you and your cattle to relish.

From the Bible - He makes springs �ow in the valleys, and rivers run between the hills. They provide water for the wild animals; there the wild donkeys quench their thirst. In the trees near by, the birds make their nests and sing.From the sky he sends rain on the hills, and the earth is �lled with His blessings.He makes grass grow for the cattle and plants for us to use, so that we can grow our crops and produce wine to make us happy, olive oil to make us cheerful, and bread to give us strength (Psalms 104: 10-15)

Water being vital for life, the history of man is linked with water. Consider the ancient civilizations: the Baby-lonian and the Assyrians in Mesopotamia, the Nile valley, the Indus valley, the Greeks, the Chinese, etc., they were all dependent upon water; Mohenjo-Daro built extensive water works, including irrigation canals; Egypt built the world’s oldest dam, Solomon, about 950BC, directed the construction of aqueducts for men, beast and �eld; Hippocrates recognized the dangers of polluted water for human health and recommended �ltration and boiling, and the Romans used poorer waters for irrigation.




Water is nature’s greatest miracle. Consider the hydrological cycle: vapours rising high from the ocean, streams, plant transpiration, forming clouds in the air, falling as rain of the soil, soaking in the soil for use by plants, and access running o� back to streams and ocean. This is a never-ending circula-tion process known as water cycle (Figure 2). By the sky of the returning rain, and by the land splitting (86:11-12)

Agriculture is the biggest user of water. While 2 litres of water are often su�cient for daily drink-ing purposes, it takes about 3,000 litres to produce the daily food needs of a person, and agriculture makes use of 70 per cent of all water withdrawn from aquifers, streams and lakes . And yet water is scarce, warranting e�cient management for producing food supply for the burgeoning population. Water applied in traditional system is considerably lost and conse-quently the application e�ciency is low such as shown in Table-1 :

Table-1: E�ciency of applied irrigation water

Thus, it is important that water application is as much e�cient as possible. Besides, we should resort to approaches to improving and sustaining productivity under water-scarce conditions :

a) Modifying the soil environment by providing irrigation and reducing water loss, and b)Modifying plants to suit the environment through genetic improvements.

Soil – That support and nourishes the plantSoil both serves as foothold and a source of nutrients for the plant (Figure 3). Its de�nition di�er according to various perceptions: soil morphologist visualizes soil in terms of the various horizons and chemical and physi-cal properties while a farmer thinks of soil in terms of its ability to produce crops in order to meet his needs of food and �bre. Soil is made up of mineral matter, air, water and organic matter in approximately 49, 25, 25, 1 per cent respectively. Plant growth is largely dependent on the various physical and chemical properties of soils.




However, soil is a ‘living’ entity and it includes bacteria, algae, protozoa, fungi, insects, earth-worms, etc. There is an average of �ve million N-�xing microorganisms like azotobacter and clostridium, plus �fty million other living beings like fungi per gm soil. These microorganisms weigh between 500 and 1000 kg/ha within the arable layer. They form 15 per cent of soil’s humus. Increasing organic matter improves soil health. Healthy soils are porous, which allows air and water to move freely through them besides nourishing plants adequately. One has to unlock the potential of a healthy soil in order to obtain sustainable crop production.

Plant growth is yet another miracle of the Creator: the process of photosynthesis by which plants convert carbon dioxide of the air via sunlight. ‘All our food comes from this process, either directly or indirectly. We eat green plants and their grains and fruits as well as the animals that feed such plants’ . Plants take carbon dioxide from air, hydrogen from water and their chlorophyll traps energy from sunlight and transforms it into chemical energy used fro the produc-tion of sugar (Figure 4). The photosynthesis equation is given below:

Pants are made up of 80 per cent of water and the rest, 18 per cent constituting carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and the remaining two per cent of mineral constituents, of which there are at least 16 essential elements required for plant growth. Among the essential elements there are primary or major, secondary and micronutrients with speci�c functions in plant life. Plants take up nutrients from soil, air, and water (Figure-5).

The growing crops while absorb nutrients from soils, they deplete them overtime from one or more nutrients with the result that the crop yields are limited by the de�cient nutrients. In due course of time de�ciency symptoms appear. Soil and plant testing are generally the diagnostic tools to assess the nutrient status of soils.




Fertilizer - That replenishes the depleted nutrientsThe story of fertilizers dates back to the dawn of scienti�c agriculture in the beginning of seven-teenth century when J.B van Helmont (1577-1644) conducted the �rst quantitative experi-ment to unravel the mystery of plant growth. The ‘principle of vegetation’ was a mystery and various researchers thought of di�erent substances: J. R. Glauber (1604-1668) as saltpeter, Francis Home (1775) as humus and de Saussure (1767-1845) as ashes of plants when Boussin-gault (1802-1887) was the one who initiated �eld experiments. However, �nally it was von Liebig (1803-1873) who gave the mineral theory of fertilizers and stated the ‘law of the minimum’ which enunciates that growth of plants is limited by the plant nutrient element present in the smallest relative amount.

When soil gets depleted of its nutrients, they are replenished through the applica-tion of chemical compounds known as fertilizers. Fertilizers are plant foods and used to supplement the soil supply of the essential plant nutrients. A fertilizer is, thus de�ned as a substance used for the purpose of supplying one or more of the elements essential for plant growth (Figure 6). There are di�erent kinds of fertilizers depending on the nutrient content. There are straight, such as urea, single superphos-phate (SSP) / triple superphosphate (TSP), muriate / sulphate of potash which contain a single nutrient, and compound fertilizers, such as diammonium phosphate (DAP) and NPKs also called complete fertilizers which contain two or more nutrient elements.

Fertilizer products and their application is by itself a subject and the e�ciency of the applied fertilizer depends on a host of factors, including the nature of soil and the kinds of crops. How-ever, fertilizer e�ciency is a complex matter. The applied nutrients in the form of fertilizers have low e�ciency: only 40 to 65 per cent of nitrogen (N), 15 to 25 per cent of phosphorus (P) and 30 to 50 per cent of potash (K) . 4R nutrient stewardship concept, which implies the right source, rate, time, and place for plant nutrient application is the latest approach in fertilizer e�ciency.




Fertigation – That optimizes water and fertilizer application

Water use e�ciency led to the development of such techniques as sprinklers around 1920s and light-weight steel pipes in the 1930s, trickle irrigation in the late 1950s and early 1960s. (Keller and Bliesner, 1990). Scarcity of irrigation in Israel led in 1960 to the development of drip irrigation (Kafka�, U. and J. Tarchitzky, 2011). However, drip irrigation was for the �rst time commercially used only in 1980 in corn and cotton �elds (Patricia. J. and M. Ron Price, 2008). Ferti-gation was now a step soon to follow. The practice of supplying crops in the �eld with fertilizer via the drip irrigation water is called Fertigation (Figure 7).

Farmers in Pakistan �rst evolved fertigation in its crude from in the 60s who placed fertilizer, particularly ammonium sulphate, in the water outlet to the �eld (nakka) during irriga-tion. However, uneven application of fertilizer in the �eld, more in the nearer and less in the far ends, besides nitrogen losses, obviated the spread of this techniques.

The Gravity Irrigation System is the simplest form of Fertigation as it applies to an irrigation

system working at atmosphere pressures in which water �ows in open channels. The fertilizer solution drip into the irrigation channel as the fertilizer tank is above the level of the channel (Figure 8).

Fertigation, a modern agro technique, provides an excellent opportunity to maxi-mize yield and minimize environmental pollution (Hagin et al, 2002) by increasingfertilizer use e�ciency, minimizing fertilizer application and increasing return on the fertilizer invested. Besides, timing, amounts and concentration of fertilizer applied are easily controlled. Following are the pre-requisites for fertigation:• Equipmento Pressurized irrigation systemo A �lter to prevent dripper from cloggingo A back-�ow preventive valve

• Fertilizerso Solubility in water sourceo The degree of acidity of fertilizer solution with regard to corrosiveness of the irrigation system components.




However, for details on the use of Fertigation in alkaline soils, nutrients reactions with soil, plant physiological considerations fertigation as applicable to �eld crops, fruits and vegeta-bles, ornamental plants, etc. are in standard publications easily available (Kafka� U. and J. Tarchitzky, 2011; Hagin, J., M. Sneh and A. Lowengart-Aycicegi, 2002; Patricia, I. and M. Ron Price, 2008).

Sustainable agriculture – That is environmental friendlyThe Green Revolution of the mid 60s was a tremendous development towards meeting food security for a bourgeoning population. However, it su�ered from myopic outlook: it lacked concern for environmental preservation and for future generations to feed themselves. As a consequence soil health got deteriorated and environmental polluted. These considerations helped emerge the concept of agricultural sustainability comprising the components as shown in Figure 9.

Sustainable agriculture, thus, implies a system of cropping which produces food, �bre and other plant / animal products while protecting soil health, environmental quality and human / animal (social) welfare. This approach of practising agriculture enables to produce healthier foods without compromising future generations ability to produce enough for them.

Continuous agriculture using resource-intensive inputs (fertilizers and chemical pesticides) robs soil of its health and ultimately leads to soil degradation and erosion. Soil management that leads to conservation agriculture is the key component of sustainability. It implies minimum tillage, rational and wise management of inputs, appropriate crop rotation and returning of crop residue to the �eld (Lumpkin and Sayre, 2009). Crop rotations, which include legume crops in cereal systems, help reduce the pest populations through disruption of the pest life cycle, increase biological N-�xation, slow-release of nutrients from complex organic substances, redistribute soil nutrients from lower soil depths to the root zone, etc. (Kassam and Friedrich, 2009).

In brief, the use of fertilizer and water though such e�cient techniques as Fertigation and the integrated use of chemical-biological sources of nutrient supply besides improved crop husbandry in farming systems approach are the measures that lead to the development of sustainable agriculture: Produce more with less.

However, it is long way and arduous task to shift from traditional agriculture to the sustainable ecosystem farming approach. The small-holding farmer, who is constrained by resources, has neither the education and training nor the will and option to adopt sustainable farming which by its very de�nition is a slow-moving approach requiring a massive public and private sectors con�ned e�orts in providing farmers the requisite education, training and the wherewithal.




The way forward – We seek; we learn We have moved from wild gathering and hunting of food in ancient times to the present-day precision farming, albeit in slow moving pace in contrast to other scienti�c disci-plines. It has been a process of seeks and learns. So let us not slacken our pace if we have to achieve progress in eco-farming sustainable approach in leaps and bounds. Produce informa-tion in concrete terms, embark on education training of farmer, and make resources available to him for this vital noble task of feeding our generation with healthier foods, protecting environment and ensuring food security.

References

Bernard Frank. 1955. The Story of Water as the Story of Man. USDA, Water, the Yearbook of Agriculture 1955.

Charles E. Kellogg. 1957. We Seek; We Learn. The USDA, Soils: The Year Book of Agriculture 1957.

Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome http://www.fao.org/docrep/t7202e/t7202e08.htm

Hagin, J., M. Sneh and A. Lowengart Aycicegi. 2002. Fertigation – Fertilization through irrigation, IPI Research Topics No. 23. Ed. By A.E Johnston, International Potash Institute, Switzerland.

Kafka�, U. and J. Tarchitzky. 2011. Fertigation: A Tool for E�cient Fertilizer and Water Management. International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) and International Potash Institute (IPI), Paris, France.

Kassam, A., and T. Friedrich. 2009. Perspectives on Nutrient Management in Conservation Agriculture. In 4th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture”, New Delhi, India, 4-7 February.

Keller, J. and R.D. Bliesner. 1990. Sprinkle and trickle irrigation. Van Nostrand Reinhold. New York.

Lumpkin, T.A., and K.D. Sayre. 2009. Enhancing resource-productivity and e�ciency through conservation agricul-ture. In “Innovations for E�ciency, Equity and Environment. 4th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture”, New Delhi, India, 4-7 February.

Mcgrath, A. Kimberley. 1999. Word of Scienti�c Discovery. Gale Research, USA.

Patricia, Imas and M. Ron Price. 2008. Fertigation Proceedings: Selected papers presented at the joint IPI-NA-TESC-CAU-CAAS International Symposium on Fertigation Optimizing the utilization of water and nutrients, Beijing, 20-24 September, 2005. International Potash Institute, Switzerland.

Pay Drechsel, et al. 2015. Managing Water and Fertilizer for Sustainable Agricultural Intensi�cation. International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) and International Potash Institute (IPI), France.

Pay Dreschsel, et al. 2015. Managing water and nutrients to ensure global food security, while sustaining ecosystem services, In Managing Water and Fertilizer for Sustainable Agricultural Intensi�cation. IFA, IWMI, IPNI and IPI, France.

Science AAAS, At the Smallest Scale, Water Is a Sloppy Liquid, http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/10/at-the-small-est-scale-water-is-a.html?ref=hp


Management of Olive Mill Wastewater in the Mediterranean Region

Prof. Munir Rusan:Jordan University of Science and TechnologyConsulting Director of the International Plant Nutrition Institute in the Middle [email protected]; [email protected]

Most countries of the Mediterranean region are suffering from scarcity of water resources. Therefore, untraditional water resources such as municipal and industrial wastewater can be a valuable additional water resource if properly managed. It has been documented that more than half of the municipal and industrial wastewater are disposed untreated to the environment.

Wastewater management (treatment and re-use) therefore remains a crucial issue to the sustainability of the environment with implications and challenges in the socio-economical development in this region. In December 2008 the Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Water held in Jordan called for the need to develop and implement strategies to achieve appropriate wastewater management with the need to conserve water quality including appropriate treatment of various types of wastewater for farther sustainable reuse in agriculture.

Wastewater can be generated from municipal, industrial and/or agricultural activities. The olive mill wastewater (OMW) is generated from olive Mills during the process of extraction of olive oil. It was estimated that the Mediterranean region accounts for 97% of the world's olive production. About 11 million tons of olives are produced each year out of which nearly 2 million tons of olive oil is extracted. The estimated olive mill wastewater (OMW) generated annually by olive oil processing is 9 million tons. OMW is highly resistant to biodegradation and can potentially cause serious environmental and health hazard problems harm if not properly disposed.

In general, OMW is composed from about 80% water, 18% organic matter, and 2% mineral matter. The organic matter of OMW contains oils, fats, phenols, proteins, organic acids, and carbohydrates. The phenolic compounds are phytotoxic to living organisms including plants and microorganisms. High organic load of OMW deteriorate water quality when disposed untreated to water bodies. OMW emits odorous volatile



compounds and create odor nuisance when disposed into the soil and water bodies causing deteriora-tion of soil water quality.

On the other hand, OMW can be bene�cial and be used as water for irrigation, soil conditioner, biomass fuel, fertilizer and compost. OMW contains valuable plant nutrients such as N, P, K and micronutrients as well as organic compounds that can enhance soil fertility and productivity. Moreover, OMW can also be a source of valuable products such as antioxidants, enzymes and bene�cial phenolic compounds.

Currently, most of the generated OMW either use only basic treatment methods (evaporation) or they just dispose the OMW in the areas surrounding their facilities. Such management imposes serious threats to the environment and public health. Therefore, proper management including both treatment and reuse is crucial in this region where water resources are scarce in both the quantity and quality

Since OMW is not biodegradable, its treatment by chemcal and physical methods suc as photooxidation, membrane micro and ultra�ltration, are expensive and currently is economically non feasible. Therefore, most countries allowed conditional and controlled application of untreated OMW to agricultural lands. These conditions in general are as follow:1. OMW can be spread on the non cultivated lands two months before planting any �eld crops and soil then has to be plowed and the OMW be mixed with the soil through soil plowing 2. OMW can be spread between fruit tree rows but not directly under the tree3. OMW not to be applied to the land with slope more than 7%4. OMW spreading to the land should not be allowed in sites close to the surface and ground water or recreation and urban areas5. The maximum rate of OMW application to the soil is no more than 80 cubic meter per hectare6. Land and plants receiving OMW should be monitored periodically for quality parameter7. Land application of OMW should be managed on a site-speci�c basis considering all environmental and soil factors in each site and avoid any generalized recommendations for OMW use.

In a study to evaluate the phytotoxicity of OMW and possible reuse of OMW as a soil amendment and source of irrigation water, an experiment was conducted in a greenhouse environment. Untreated (100%omw), diluted OMW (25%omw, 50%omw) and fresh water (W) as a control were used for irrigating corn crop grown in calcareous soil. The characteristics of OMW used and the soil are given in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively.

The following main results and �ndings obtained from this experiment are as follow:

Plant growth (Fig 1):1. The undiluted OMW resulted in the lowest plant dry weight indicating the phytotoxic effect on the plant growth 2. Dilution of untreated OMW at a ration of 3:1 (3 water and 1 OMW) was adequate to signi�cantly reduce OMW phytotoxicity3. Plant growth was improved with the soil application of the highest dilution of OMW with fresh water (25%OMW), followed by the control treatment where fresh water alone was used (W)4. The relative plant dry weight obtained by the 25%OMW was 23% more than that obtained by the control (W) and three times more than that obtained by the application of undiluted OMW (100%OMW)5. The decrease in OMW phytotoxicity following OMW dilution could be attributed to the reduction of the levels of the phenols and other phytotoxic compounds



6. Plant growth enhancement with application of diluted OMW could be attributed to the bene�cial organic substances and essential nutrients provided to the soil with OMW application

Plant Uptake of macronutrients(Table 3):1. The plant contents of N, P and K were the highest for the 25%OMW treatment followed by the W2. The increase in the plant N, P and K with the 25%OMW compared with the control treatment (W) indicates the soil is de�cient in these nutrients and that the OMW provided the soil with these nutrients or enhanced the original unavailable soil nutrients resulting in a an increase in their uptake by the plant3. The lowest plant contents of N, P and K was obtained by the application of the undiluted OMW and tended to increase with dilution of OMW4. The higher the dilution was the higher the contents of plant nutrients5. The decreasing trend in plant uptake of nutrients with dilution of OMW followed the trend of the effect of the same treatments on the plant dry weight6. Obviously the lower the dilution of the OMW is the lower is the plant dry weight7. Although the OMW contains considerable amounts of N, P and K which simultaneously would be added to the soil upon OMW application [54-55], their uptake by the plant irrigated with undiluted and diluted OMW remained low due to the low plant dry weight

Soil characteristics after plant harvest (Table 4):1. Soil pH at the end of the growing period was signi�cantly lower in the soil where undiluted OMW was applied 2. Other treatments of diluted OMW did not decrease the soil pH. The decrease in soil pH could be attributed to the acidic nature of olive mill wastewater. It should be pointed out that the soil is calcare-ous with high buffer capacity. 3. This could explain the small decrease in the soil pH with undiluted OMW while the diluted OMW was not affecting the soil pH. In addition4. On the other hand, the soil salinity (EC) was increased drastically by the application of undiluted and diluted OMW5. The highest increase in soil EC was obtained by the undiluted OMW and then the EC decreased with decreasing the dilution of the OMW. The increase in EC with OMW application is obviously attributed to the high salt concentration in the OMW that would accumulate in the soil with continuous application6. Compared to the soil application of water with and without fertilizer, the soil contents of both organic matter and total polyphenols were the highest for the undiluted then by diluted OMW. Besides improv-ing the soil fertility of the soil with OMW application, increasing the soil organic matter tends to enhance soil structure by enhancing the soil aggregation

Soil nutrients after plant harvest (Table 5):1. Soil N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Na drastically increased with undiluted and diluted OMW application in comparison with the control treatments where water applied2. The highest values for all these nutrients were obtained when undiluted OMW was applied (Table 6). The increase in soil N, P and K contents with OMW application can be attributed to their high content in the OMW used (Tables 2). Such enrichment of the soil with organic matter and macronutrients would improve the soil fertility and productivity levels.



ConclusionsBased on the results obtained from this study it can be concluded that soil application of undiluted OMW had phytotoxic and prohibiting effect on plant growth. On the other hand, and due to high levels of organic matter, phenols and nutrients in the OMW, the soil fertility was improved following soil appli-cation of OMW. Dilution of OMW with potable water at water to OMW ratio of 3:1 (25%OMW) is recom-mended before soil application to eliminate its phytotoxicty and to enhance plant growth. Such dilution can be adopted without any further treatment as an inexpensive technology before application. Finally, the enhancement of soil OM, N, P and K and improving soil fertility is of particular importance for the poor soils of the arid and semi-arid region. Thus, OMW in this region has the potential to be used as an organic soil amendment.

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