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May 2012

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velopment banks and the private sector. The second area of work is transpar-ency and information about agricultural markets, which needs to be improved to avoid errors in market expectations. A joint database, the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), has been created and is housed at the FAO in Rome. It will allow data on production, consumption and stocks to be improved, starting with four crops (wheat, rice, maize and soybean). France will serve as chair during the first year.

When agricultural commodity prices surge, the buying power

of consumers is affected, particularly in the poorest countries, as shown by the 2007-2008 food crisis. When prices are very low, many producers, in both the North and South, are unable to cover production costs, leading to disinvest-ment or even financial failure. Therefore, during its Presidency of the G20, France decided that the volatility of agricultural commodity prices should be addressed by a meeting of G20 ag-riculture ministers. This meeting, which took place in Paris on 22-23 June 2011, resulted in the adoption of an Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agricul-ture.1 At the G20 Summit in Cannes on 3-4 November 2011, Heads of State sup-ported the action plan, whose five areas of work respond to the multiple factors influencing the volatility of agricultural prices globally.2

The first recommendation presented in the action plan is reinvestment in the ag-ricultural sector, especially in the poor-est countries. Indeed, to avoid market tensions, agricultural production should grow at the same rate as demand. Thus, the action plan proposes the reinforce-ment and diffusion of research and in-novation: in September, an initiative for coordinating international research on wheat improvement (wheat initia-tive) was launched in Paris3 and a G20 conference on agricultural research for development took place in Montpellier, France.4 Responsible investments in ag-ricultural production are also of basic importance in this regard, and work has been undertaken with multilateral de-

Consensus reached on voluntary guidelines on land tenureby Samuel Gituro

Results concerning agriculture under the French Presidency of the G20by Mylène Testut

On 9 March, after three years of ne-gotiations, the Voluntary Guide-

lines on Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of National Food Security were finally agreed upon. This UN-backed initiative has involved deliberations among some 96 member countries, along with civil society organizations, UN agencies and other international organizations, farm-ers’ associations and private sector rep-resentatives.The guidelines’ core objective is to pro-mote responsible governance of land tenure. Concerns have been raised about large-scale land acquisitions,

including those in Africa and Asia by developed countries seeking to ensure their own food security. The guidelines are targeted at promoting equal rights for women in securing land ownership, creating transparent record-keeping systems accessible by the rural poor, and recognizing and protecting informal, traditional rights to land, forests and fisheries. cont’d on page 4

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Benchmarking is not carried out in order to compile a list of all best practices. Rather, it is used to highlight the most common and important ones. This is considered key to effective process manage-ment. Benchmarking helps partici-pants become more competitive; reduce their costs and increase effi-ciency; reduce their waste and emis-sions; and improve their quality and SHE performance.This year, AFA is creating its first Energy Conservation Task Force. It has the fol-lowing strategies: • Considerenergymanagementasafo-

cus area for AFA member companies;• Developandshareknowledgeandex-

pertise in regard to energy efficiency; • Optimize consumption of resources,

e.g. raw materials, fuel and electrical energy;

• Identifyareasforimprovementbycar-rying out energy studies;

• Developawarenessofenergyconser-vation among employees, contractors’ staff and others, and motivate them to draw up energy conservation pro-posals;

• Recoverwasteheatandeffluentandminimizewastethroughrecyclingandreuse.

AFA member companies aspire to achieve SHE performance that will set anexample intheMiddleEastandAf-rica. They are committed to sustainable

development – that is, to ensuring a har-monious balance be-tween the needs of society and consump-tion of the earth’s resources. During thepast few years, AFA and its member com-panies have worked hard to promote SHE best practices and to improve SHE perfor-

TheArabFertilizerAssociation(AFA),established in 1975, is made up of

Arab companies and institutions en-gagedinfertilizermanufacturing,trad-ing and related fields. AFA’s aims include developing the Arab fertilizer industryand contributing to global food secu-rity. AFA maintains a strong focus on sustainability and on safety, health and environment(SHE)issues.The Arab region is increasingly at the forefront of the global supply and trade offertilizersandassociatedrawmateri-als. AFA coordinates technical relations among member companies, as well as ad-dressing all issues related to the industry. The Association provides a framework, within which Arab companies obtain knowledge concerning the latest tech-nological advances. AFA also gives Arab companies’ representatives the oppor-tunity to strengthen their relationships withrelevantinstitutions,organizationsand companies internationally.AFA has conducted detailed, compre-hensive benchmarking studies in coop-eration with international consultants. Members’ performance is comparedwith that of other companies world-wide. One objective of benchmarkingis to identify “best manufacturing prac-tices” in regard to business and work flow procedures at participating com-panies’ manufacturing sites. In this way, all parties can benefit and improve ev-ery phase of the manufacturing process.

mance in every respect. In 2008, AFA launched a SHE award to recognizemembers which have improved their SHE performance, or which have dem-onstrated sustained and continually out-standing SHE performance. The first two awards were for the periods 2003-07 and 2008-10. This award demonstrates that companies with a commitment to SHE actively monitor their performance and assess their ongoing improvement efforts.Based on AFA’s commitment to support continuous improvement of SHE perfor-manceamongArabfertilizercompaniesthrough applying stricter controls on all SHEactivities(inlinewithinternationalbest practice), AFA has developed andissued unified SHE Key Performance In-dicators(KPI’s)forAFAmembers.Thesewill help them remain aware of current performance by other members, of what they can do to improve, and of how they can avoid harm to their employees and assets.AFA believes that sustainable develop-ment(likebuildingasuccessfulbusiness)requires taking a long-term view. It also requires the integration of social, envi-ronmental and economic considerations soastomakebalancedjudgments.

ContactShafik AshkarSecretary GeneralArabFertilizerAssociation(AFA)Cairo, Egypt info@afa.com.eg www.afa.com.eg

sustainability

The Arab Fertilizer Association focuses on sustainability and SHE issuesby Shafik Ashkar

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AninitiativecalledGEO-GLAM,pilotedby the Group on Earth Observation(GEO)basedinGeneva,willcontributeto AMIS through an improvement indata production using satellite images.The plan’s third area of work concerns international coordination in order to avoid uncoordinated reactions, in the event of world market crises. The cre-ation of a Rapid Response Forum will al-low countries to use an informal mecha-nism to predict and manage agricultural market crises, together with AMIS. Itwas decided to remove food exportrestrictions or extraordinary taxes forfood purchased for non-commercial hu-manitarian purposes by the World Food Programme (WFP), and agreed not toimpose them in the future. The fourth area aims to reinforce the protection of the most vulnerable againstexcessivepricevolatilitythroughvarious risk management instruments. Initiatives have therefore been launched concerning market and structural instru-ments,particularlythroughapilotproj-ect on a regional emergency food re-serve for West Africa and a Platform for

AgriculturalRiskManagement(PARM).Finally, the G20 considered that finan-cial regulation is necessary, and sup-ported the recommendations of the InternationalOrganizationofSecuritiesCommissions(IOSCO)toimproveregula-tion of commodity derivatives markets, notably to give market regulators real power to intervene in order to prevent market abuses, including through posi-tion limits. Enhancing food security is one of the fiveprioritiesoftheMexicanPresidencyof the G20 in 2012. Implementing the Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture will be a key element.

1ht tp : / / ag r i cu l tu re .gouv. f r / IMG/pdf/2011-06-23_-_Action_Plan_-_VFi-nale.pdf. The French version is at http://agriculture.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/2011-06-23_-_Plan_d_action_-_VFinale.pdf2www.g20-g8.com/g8-g20/g20/english/for-the-press/news-releases/g20-lead-ers-summit-final-communique.1554.html3See Annex 1 of the Action Plan. Alsosee: http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/ITMI/IRI-

WI/International_Wheat_Research_Ini-tiative_23062011-2.pdf4http://consortium.cgiar.org/g20-confer-ence-on-agricultural-research-for-devel-opment-montpellier-france/

ContactMylèneTestutHeadof“DevelopmentandInterna-tionalOrganisations”unitMinistryofAgriculture,Food,Fisheries,RuralDevelopmentandTerritorial PlanningParis, Francemylene.testut@agriculture.gouv.fr

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Results concerning agriculture under the French Presidency of the G20

The World Bank recently announced thatzinchasbeen included in itsagri-cultural programme in Haiti. Following a presentation by the International Zinc Association(IZA),theBank’sLAC(LatinAmerica and the Caribbean) Nutritiongroupwas“inspiredbythezincstory”-that is, the ability of zinc to improvecrop production and nutritional value.Theaimof the LACNutritiongroup isto examine existing structures in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean to deter-mine which areas are severely lacking attention, and to de-veloppartnershipsthatwillmakethoseareasapriority.Micro-nutrient supplementation is one of the areas with top priority for Haiti.1 TheLACNutritiongrouprecognizesthatimprovingthenutri-tionalstatusofcropswithzincfertilizersisaninvestmentwithhigh returns. Zinc is affordable, effective and efficient, mak-

ing it a viable solution to two of Haiti’s most critical issues: malnutrition and foodsecurity.Fifty-sixpercentofHaiti’spopulationisatriskforzincdeficiency,the highest percentage of any country in LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean.Stunt-ing(lowheightforage),aneffectofzincdeficiency, is prevalent in 30 per cent of Haiti’s children. Zinc supplementation and zinc fertilizationwill reduce thesepercentages considerably.

1http://blogs.worldbank.org/latinamerica/haiti-sowing-the-seeds-for-better-nutritionContactFor information on IZA’s work with the World Bank and the HaitiProject:AndrewGreen,ZincNutrientInitiativeagreen@zinc.org-www.zinc.org

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World Bank’s agronomic programme in Haiti to include zincby Teri Kuhn

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The Global TraPs com-munity met for a

fourth workshop on 16-18March in El Jadida,Morocco. The work-shop theme was “De-fining Case Studies – Set-ting Priorities”. Among the 90 participants were scientists from more than 30differentresearchinstitutes,expertsfrom the mining and fertilizer indus-tries, representatives of international and governmental bodies including FAO,UNEPandtheUnitedStatesGeo-logicalSurvey(USGS),representativesofNGOssuchasCleanBaltic,Greenpeaceand the International Institute for Sus-tainableDevelopment(IISD),andguestsfrom theMoroccan phosphateminingcompanyOCP,theworkshop’shost.TheGlobalTraPs(TransdisciplinaryPro-cessesforSustainablePhosphorusMan-agement;2010–2015)areauniquetrans-disciplinary learning interface between scienceandpractice.Theproject’saimisto improve the mining, production, use and recycling of phosphorus from mul-tipleperspectives.Thisgoalisexpressedby the guiding question: “What new knowledge, technologies and policy op-tions are needed to ensure that future phosphorus use is sustainable, improves food security and environmental qual-ity, and provides benefits for the poor?” The Global TraPs project was initiatedas a partnership between science, led by RolandW. Scholz (Natural and So-cial Science Interface of ETH, the Swiss FederalInstituteofTechnology,Zurich),andpractice,ledbyAmitRoy(IFDC).Itsultimate goal is to develop policy orien-tations on sustainable phosphorus man-agement for decision makers. The focus is on avoiding unnecessary losses in the supply chain and on increasing effi-ciency through innovative technologies. The project is of particular interest toindustry, as it offers a multi-stakeholder process that includes key agents from industry, farmer organizations, policymakers and science.

An important characteristic of the project’s transdisciplinary

approach is that discussions take place in a market wise, non-politicized arena. Con-tested topics are openly discussed and new solu-tions may be considered. Since the project is orga-

nized along the supply-de-mandchain, specificgroupsofexpertsdealwithcriticalaspectsofexploration/prospecting, mining, processing, use, dissipation and recycling. In addition, trade and finance constitutes a crosscut-ting issue-topic.AttheworkshopinElJadida,scientistsand practitioners intensely discussed whichknowledgegapstoprioritizeandhow to address them with case studies. About 25 case studies have been draft-ed,coveringabroadrangeoftopics(e.g.increasingtheefficiencyofrockextrac-tion and beneficiation, recycling inten-sive livestock phosphorus, and avoiding eutrophicationoftheBalticSea).During the workshop, representativesofAfricanandIndianfarmerorganiza-tions had the opportunity to present their main concerns to the plenum and tobecloselyinvolvedinthefinalizationof case studieson, forexample,accesstofertilizers,coststructuresofthephos-phorous supply chain, and strategies for smallholder farmers. The 1stWorldConferenceinMarch2013,which may possibly be held in China, will present an opportunity for Global TraPs partners to realize thenext importantstep in the process: the transition “from cases to options”.

ContactDésiréeRuppenProjectManagerGlobalTraPsETH ZurichInstituteforEnvironmentalDecisionsNaturalandSocialScienceInterfaceZurich,Switzerlanddesiree.ruppen@env.ethz.chwww.uns.ethz.ch/gt

Global TraPs workshop addresses phosphorus knowledge gapsby Roland W. Scholz and Désirée Ruppen

Weak governance has long been a cause of numerous land-tenure issues. Efforts to address these issues are affected, in turn, by weak governance. Weak civil society, complexand inconsistent laws,and poorly trained, underpaid and un-motivated workers in land agencies are some of the reasons weak governance persists. In the end, the poor are on the losing end since they lack the capacity to defend their rights to land and other natural resources.11Mayisthedateforaspecialmeetingatwhich theUNCommittee onWorldFood Security (CFS) will consider theguidelinesforfinalapproval.“Onceap-proved, the guidelines will be voluntary, but because they have been drawn up in such a comprehensive and inclusive process, and because there is this shared perception that a framework like this is sorely needed, we all anticipate that they will set the bar for policymakers,” sayscurrentCFSchairYayaOlaniran.With these voluntary guidelines, civil society land right groups will be better equipped to carry out their work with rural communities. In addition, investors and developers will have clear indicators on best practices. Endorsement of the guidelines is a step in the right direction, but there is still much to be done. “What remains for us is an even greater task – implementa-tionoftheguidelines,”Dr.GregoryMy-ers, Chair of theOpen-EndedWorkingGroup–VG, emphasized ina letter tothe CFS.“The participatory way in which these negotiations led by the Committee on World Food Security took place deserves praise,”addsJoséGrazianodaSilva,theDirector-GeneralofFAO,whocalls theagreement a “milestone achievement”.

Moreinformation:www.fao.org/nr/ten-ure/voluntary-guidelines/en/

cont’d from page 1 Consensus reached on voluntary guidelines on land tenure

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May 2012 5

In France, Unifa (theFrench fertilizer indus-

try association) launcheda game last Novemberwith the aim of making the concept of fertilisation raisonnée(sustainablefer-tilization) better known.Unifa also wanted to in-crease the distribution of its “Ferti-pratiques” infor-mation sheets to farmers. This contest was designed to appeal, in particular, to young farmers (under 35yearsold)andallagriculturalstudents,in order to continue making them aware of the importance of good agricultural practicesforbalancedfertilization.The game, which was online until 31 March at www.jeu-fertilisation-raison-nee.org,consistedoffivemonthlyquiz-zes.Theywerecreatedbyagronomistsfor teaching purposes on themes includ-ing crop nutrition, good practices that respect the environment, and soil fertil-ity. Participants were invited to search for the right answers to technical ques-tions inUnifa’s“Ferti-pratiques“ infor-mationsheets(24ofwhichdiscussplantnutrition and soil fertility). The “Ferti-pratiques” series can be downloaded at www.unifa.frunder“NosPublications”(“OurPublications”).The prizes awarded eachmonth werean iPad 2, five smartphones and ten “adventure boxes”. More than 700

students and young farmers participated in the game. To con-tinue the teaching process, the correct answers were shown online along with the winners’ names and their photos. Unifa also gave avideo projector tothe school that had best motivated its students. One teacher ex-

plained: “My primary objective wastomake the studentsawareofUnifa’sinformation sheets. When I suggested that they took part in this game, they agreed right away. I think this playful, modern way to enrich their knowledge is interesting. It corresponds well to their universe since they use internet easily. I helpedduringthefirstquiz.Afterwards,they did well on their own. At the end, we made the corrections together. For the lucky question, they were on their own. Another teacher added: “When I received the documentation for the game, I thought this could be a funny way to motivate my students because of the possibility to work in a group. I sug-gested it to them, and right away they were enthusiastic. I have to admit it’s more stimulating for them than a writ-tenexam…Ireservedacomputerroomand they all signed up. What’s good for learning is not just the content of thequestions, but needing to look things up on the information sheets via internet.”Thisgameonsustainablefertilizationislikely to be repeated in 2013.

ContactLaurencePlanquetteCommunicationandDevelopmentUNIFA,92909LaDéfense,Francelplanquettte@unifa.frwww.unifa.fr www.engrais-agriculture.fr

Unifa’s online “sustainable fertilization” challengeby Laurence Planquette

IFA newsFarming First TwitterFarming First reached 10,000 followers on Twitter! To celebrate this achievement, the coalition posted 2 blog articles high-lighting the top ten tweet moments:www.farmingfirst.org/2012/03/farming-firsts-top-ten-twitter-moments/

Feeding the Earth Series:2 new issue briefs

Debunking ten myths about phosphate rock production. Trends from 1992 to 2011.IFA, February 2012. 4 pp.

Effective last-mile delivery of crop nutrition knowledgeIFA, April 2012. 4 pp.www.fert i l izer.org/ i fa /HomePage/ LIBRARY/Our-selection2/Issue-briefs

Fertilizer subsidy situation in selected countries: 2010-2011P.HefferandA.OlegarioIFA, Paris, France, April 2012. 14 pp.Restricted to IFA members.www.fert i l izer.org/ i fa/HomePage- Member/AGRICULTURE-COMMITTEE

IFA annual report 2011IFA, April 2012. 24 pp.www.fertilizer.org

“Ferti-pratiques“ information sheets

Farmers can be more innovative in their use of fertilizers, in order to

protect the environment and increase theirprofits.The4RNutrientSteward-ship system is helping them meet these goals. Simplyput,fertilizerisfoodforplants.Itis responsible for nearly half the world’s food supply and is the most important crop input used by Canadian farmers. Canada’sfertilizer industryplaysanes-sential role in ensuring that the world’s food needs can be met economically and sustainably. Ourindustryisscience-based.Itiscom-mitted to agricultural research and innovation to ensure environmental stewardship when fertilizer productsare being used. Sustainability can be achieved by balancing the economic, social and environmental goals of our stakeholders – including farm groups, researchers, conservationists, govern-ments, industry members and communi-ties across the country. Environmental stewardship and sustain-ability are not new ideas for our industry, or for farmers who have long embraced the principles of best management prac-tices in their operations. But as we move forward on the path to sustainability, it is increasingly important both to dem-onstrate our success in measurable ways and to identify areas where we can im-prove our performance. The Canadian Fertilizer Institute (CFI)is working with IFA, the International PlantNutritionInstitute(IPNI)scientists,the United States fertilizer industry,crop advisors, agri-retailers and farm-ers to improve fertilizer use efficiency,improve crop yields and protect the en-vironment. This work has produced the 4RNutrientStewardship Initiative.TheCanadianfertilizerindustryisconfidentthat this is the best method to protect the environment when fertilizers arebeing applied, while at the same time improving farm profitability.

4RNutrientStewardshipisabestman-agement practice system with four key pillars for fertilizer application: RightSource @ Right Rate, Right Time, Right Place. This science-based approach helps farmers and the public understand how bestmanagementpracticesforfertilizeror manure improve farm profitability while reducing crop nutrient losses into the environment. It helps any farmer improvefertilizeruseandcreategreat-er crop yields in an environmentally sus-tainable way. The Right Source means ensuring that a balanced supply of essential plant nutri-ents is used, including granular and liq-uidfertilizersormanures.The Right Rate means applying justenoughfertilizertomeettheneedsofthe crop while accounting for the nutri-ents already in the soil. Farmers can use soil tests to identify nutrient shortfalls, and then use Global Positioning System receivers on their tractors to apply fer-tilizers at variable rates throughout afield. TheRightTimemeansapplyingfertilizerwhen the crop will get the most benefit andavoiding timeswhenfertilizer canbelosttotheenvironment.Forexample,in the fall, soil needs to be at the right temperaturetominimizenutrientlossesinto the atmosphere. The Right Place means the place where plants caneasilyuse the fertilizer, and

where it is less likely to be lost to wa-terways or into the atmosphere. A good example of applying fertilizer in theright place is sub-surface banding in the soil near the seed rather than surface application. In other cases, farmers may need to establish buffer strips near riv-ers, lakes or wells. 4R Nutrient Stewardship is a flexible,unified approach – with all the 4Rs working together in a nutrient man-agement plan. Proper nutrient manage-ment ensures that farmland and the surrounding environment will remain healthy for the use of generations well into the future. 4R Nutrient Stewardship clearly pro-motes sustainable development as it provides economic, social and environ-mental benefits. It increases crop yields, sparing land for other uses, and main-tains or increases the carbon held within the soil, which plays a critical role in pro-tecting the environment.

ContactCatherine KingManager,CommunicationsCanadianFertilizerInstituteOttawa,Ontario,Canadacking@cfi.ca www.cfi.caTwitter: CdnFertInst(See also IFA Last Mile Delivery brochure page 5).

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The solution for responsible, sustainable and innovative farming practicesby the Canadian Fertilizer Institute

4R NUTRIENT STEWARDSHIP

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Fertilizers Europe represents themajor fertilizer manufacturers in

Europe. This Brussels-based association focuses on the latest developments in the industry and on solutions with re-spect to agriculture, the environment and natural resources. In September 2003, Fertilizers Europecreated its Product Stewardship pro-gramme in order to improve safety, health and environmental aspects as-sociated with the production, storage, distribution and use of fertilizers. Thereasons for launching this programme were:• totakeresponsibilityfortheproduct

through the value chain from raw ma-terials to end use;

• tomeetpublicdemandsforopennessand communication;

• toshareexperiencesandknowledge;• toprovideagoodstructureforsetting

up product stewardship at company level.

Total commitment to these principles is core to its membership requirements. The Product Stewardship programme is mandatoryforFertilizersEuropemem-bers and is audited by an independent global certification body.When IFA launched its own product stewardship Initiative, Protect and Sus-tain, in 2010, the two associations saw an opportunity to cooperate closely. This cooperation has led to an agreement that the European Product Steward-ship scheme will be integrated into IFA’s global Protect and Sustain programme at the highest level.EachmemberofFertilizersEurope,aftera successful audit, automatically quali-fies for IFA’s top-ranking certificate. And thanks to this cooperation, all IFA mem-bers now have the possibility to attain certification according to the leading

European Product Stewardship stan-dard. The latest audit was performed in 2011 byDNVAuditingServices.ItincludedallmembersofFertilizersEurope.Inrecog-nition of the value of this programme, Fertilizers Europe presented ProductStewardship certificates to its members during theBoardMeetingon8Marchofthisyear.BenMuirheid,IFA’sTechni-calDirectorresponsiblefortheAssocia-tion’s Protect and Sustain programme, participated in the ceremony.

Formore information,go toFertilizersEurope’s Product Stewardship web site: www.productstewardship.eu or its corporate web site: www.fertilizerseurope.com

ContactsAntoineHoxhaTechnicalDirector,FertilizersEuropeantoine.hoxha@fertilizerseurope.comBenMuirheidTechnicalDirector,IFAbmuirheid@fertilizer.org

IFA and Fertilizers Europe cooperate on product stewardshipby Antoine Hoxha

SafetyisoneofthethreepillarsofproductionforFertilizersEurope,whichorganizedits15thSafetySeminarinChester,UnitedKingdom,inApril.For more information, go to: http://safetyseminar.businesscatalyst.com/

IFA job opportunity

Director, Technical Service

IFA is inviting applications from qualified candidates for the post of Director of its Technical Service. This is a permanent ap-pointment to the Paris-based Secretariat of the Association. The position includes extensive international travel.Under the direction of the Director Gen-eral, the Director is responsible for the activities of the Committee and its work-ing groups. The candidate will manage issues and projects within the areas of efficient and responsible fertilizer pro-duction, with a particular emphasis on promoting safety, health and environ-mental initiatives globally within the membership. For more information on the Commit-tee’s activities, visit: www.fertilizer.org/ifa/HomePage/ABOUT-IFA/IFA-s-struc-ture/IFA-s-committees.Relevant qualifications include:• Operational management experience

in an industrial environment with ex-perience in handling safety, health and environment issues

• Native-level English• Excellent written and verbal communi-

cation skills• A global mind-set with the capability to

work in diverse and culturally different business environments

Expertise in chemical engineering, pref-erably ammonia synthesis or phosphate processing would be helpful, as would familiarity with the fertilizer industry’s business and public relations issues.Qualified candidates from developing countries and countries in transition are encouraged to apply.

Applications should be received by the IFA Secretariat by 15 May 2012 at:bmuirheid@fertilizer.org

8 fertilizers & agriculture

Farming First and the Food and Agriculture Organiza-tion of the United Nations(FAO)have jointlyproducedan interactive infographic, “The Female Face of Farm-ing”. Prepared for the United Nations Com-mission on the Status of Women (CSW), itwas launched on 8 March, Internation-alWomen’sDay.This new infograph-ic is a striking visual representation of the statistics underlying the urgent need to invest in rural women. It con-sists of 17 individually designed graphics, each of which can be tweeted and/or embedded for use in presentations or blogposts.MostofthedatawereprovidedbytheFAO.Although women are the backbone of the rural economy, especially in the developing world, they receive only a fractionoftheland,credit,inputs(e.g.improvedseedsandfertilizers),agricul-tural training and information available to men. “Rural women are active economic agents who could unleash major ad-vancements in hunger eradication and development if they were able to par-ticipate equally with men in the agricul-tural economy,” FAO Deputy Director-General Ann Tutwiler told the opening

session of the 56th Session of the CSW on 27 February. The infographic demonstrates the

need to close the gender gap by empowering and investing

in rural women in order to significantly increase productivity, reduce hun-

ger and malnutrition, and improve rural liveli-hoods. Key statistics: •Women, on average,

comprise 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries;•Of thosewomen in theleast developed countries who report being econom-ically active, 79 per cent report that agriculture is their primary source of livelihood;• Ninety per cent ofhand weeding is done by women;

•Femalefarmersreceivelessthan5percentofallagriculturalextensionser-vices;

• Only 24 per cent of African agricul-tural researchers are female;

• The yield gap between men andwomen farmers averages around 20-30 per cent, mostly due to differences in resource use.

To view the infographic and exploreFarming First’s new page on women: www.farmingfirst.org/womenFAOopeningsessionbyAnnTutwiler:w w w . u n m u l t i m e d i a . o r g / t v /webcast/2012/02/56th-session-of-csw-ms-ann-tutwiler-fao-opening.htmlTheJointStatementbytheRome-basedAgencies–FAO,theInternationalFundfor Agricultural Development (IFAD)and the United Nations World FoodProgramme(WFP)–on“CSW56Prior-ity Themes: Empowering Rural Women to Reduce Poverty and Eradicate Hun-ger” is available at: www.un.org/wom-enwatch/daw/csw/csw56/statements/statement-Tutwiler.pdf

IFA newsRio+20IFA is engaged as an industry sector at Rio+20 through Business Action for Sus-tainableDevelopment2012(BASD2012),as well as through the Farming First co-alition. Industry spokespeople will at-tendRio+20inJune,speakingonvariousoccasions and raising the profile of the agricultural sector in the contextof thegreen economy. Farming First will co-host several side events, particularly on Agri-cultureandRuralDevelopmentDayandduring the United Nations Global Com-pact days. IFA will also lobby, along with partner groups, to make sure the confer-ence contributes to further policy coher-ence on food security and to reaffirming the central role of farmers and the private sector in providing solutions to current challenges. FormoreinformationabouttheUNCon-ference on Sustainable DevelopmentRio+20:www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.html For more information on Business Ac-tionforSustainableDevelopment(BASD2012):http://basd2012.org/

Roots for GrowthIFA, together with industry assoc iat ions representing Brazil, Can-ada, Europe and the Unit-

ed States, are launching inDoha an in-dustry-wide communications campaign, “Roots for Growth”. This campaign seeks toraiseawarenessof (andshareknowl-edgeabout)thefertilizerindustry’scon-tribution to sustainable agriculture and food security. Several media tools will be used, including a video, a web site, and infographic presentations.

New “Female Face of Farming” infographic

May 2012 9

We have entered an era in which the possibilities tomobilize, in-

spire and harvest human intellectual resources seem unlimited. Through the process of “crowdsourcing”, multiple us-ers are brought together to develop con-tent or brainstorm new ideas. Innovative organizationscanthereforeharnessthecreativity of connected, increasingly em-poweredpeople.A fewexamples illus-trate crowdsourcing’s potential.OnthewebsiteoftheUnitedNationsConference on Sustainable Develop-ment(Rio+20),whichwilltakeplaceinRio de Janeiro on 20-22 June, there isa crowdsourcing initiative called “Pic-tures of the World”1.Globalcitizensareinvited to upload photos that represent a sustainable lifestyle, accompanied by a description. The site displays these photos as a photo montage or in slide-showformat.Usingthissimple,effectivemethod of crowdsourcing by collecting digital photos, content is harvested from many sources while awareness of (andsupportfor)thethemesoftheup-coming conference are generated. Moreover,aone-dayevent,“Rio+Social”2

isscheduledfor19June,thedaybeforethe conference’s high-level sessions be-gin. A global conversation, it will take place both on the ground and online. OrganizersandsupportersofRio+SocialincludetheUnitedNationsFoundation,thenewsandbloggingwebsiteMash-able3, New York’s 92nd Street Y4, the communications technology company Ericsson, and the energy supplier EDP.DiscussionsinRiodeJaneiroon19Junewill be streamed live, and everybody ev-erywhere is invited to participate. The social networking channels to be used will be announced in the weeks preced-ing this event. Topics will include how technology and digital and social media can impact themajor issues being ad-dressed at Rio+20, such as energy, cities, employment, food, water, women’s is-sues, oceans and disasters.

In April of this year, the humanitarian news site Reuters AlertNet launched“Solutions for a Hungry World”5, a mul-timedia special report focused on ways to tacklehunger.AlertNet invited sub-missions from filmmakers, photojour-nalists, social entrepreneurs, aid work-ers, inventors and others. A clear call to action was found on the report’s web site: “Your mission: Solutions for a hun-gry world. Let’s build them together;share your ideas”. Following the mis-sion statement was a list of categories to which the public could contribute: smarter food, different food, urban food, fair food,andmovingfood (e.g.food transport innovations). This ini-tiative was designed to encourage the sharingofbestpractice.Anexampleofsuch successful sharing is Farming First’s animated video “The Story of Agricul-ture and the Green Economy”6. Food manufacturers are also engaging in crowdsourcing in order to innovate everything from individual product of-fers to their entire supply chains. For instance,Unilever is hosting a 24-hourglobal dialogue called a “Sustainable LivingLab”inlateApril2012whichwillallow registered stakeholders to engage with them around all aspects of their business impacts. The Bill &MelindaGates Foundation’s“Grand Challenges Explorations”7 uses what could also be thought of as crowd-sourcing. The Foundation has commit-tedUS$100milliontoencouragescien-

tists to“expand thepipelineof ideas”to fight the world’s greatest health chal-lenges.Since2008,GrandChallengeEx-plorations grants have been awarded to 602 people from 44 countries. The grant programme is open to anyone from any discipline, from students to tenured professors, and from any organization(including colleges and universities,government laboratories, research in-stitutions,non-profitorganizationsandfor-profit companies. Grand Challenge Explorations featureswhat its web site describes as an “ag-ile, accelerated grant-making process”. Short, two-page applications for inno-vativeprojectsmaybesubmittedwith-out any preliminary data. Applications are submitted online, and winners are chosen approximately fourmonths af-ter the deadline for submissions. Initial grantsofUS$100,000areawardedtwiceayear.Ifprojectsaresuccessful,anad-ditionalfollow-upgrantofuptoUS$1million may be awarded. What theseexampleshave incommonis that they call for collective action to develop new content or insights. In turn, this helps organizations to meet theirownobjectives.

1www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?page=view&type=12&nr=246&menu=14&pic=7502 http://rioplussocial.com.br/en/3http://mashable.com4www.92y.org5www.trust.org/alertnet/multimedia/as-signments/6http://youtu.be/twGev010Zwc7www.grandchallenges.org/about/Pag-es/Overview.aspx

ContactMichaelHoevelDirector,GlasshousePartnershipLondon,UKmichaelh@glasshousepartnership.com www.glasshousepartnership.com

How innovative organizations are using crowdsourcing to develop new content and insights by Michael Hoevel

©UNRio+S

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RikinGandhiistheChiefExecutiveOfficerofDigitalGreen,anon-governmental organizationwhose interests include sus-tainable agriculture and technology for socio-economic devel-opment.Heco-foundedDigitalGreenasaresearchprojectforMicrosoftResearch India’sTechnology forEmergingMarketsteam.Thisledtothespin-offofthisorganization,whichworksto make agricultural development more effective globally. DigitalGreenbuildsanddeploysinformationandcommunica-tion technology to increase the effectiveness of agricultural

development efforts. Theunique components of theDigitalGreen system include a participatory process for local video production, a human-mediated instruction model for video dissemination and training, a hardware and software tech-nologyplatformforexchangingdatainareaswithlimitedin-ternet and electrical grid connectivity, and an iterative model to better address progressively the needs and interests of the community with analytical tools and interactive phone-based feedback channels.

DigitalGreenhasbeenshownto be at least ten times as ef-fective, per dollar spent, in increasing the uptake of sus-tainable agricultural practices by farmers than traditional approachestoagriculturalex-tension. Thus far, theDigitalGreen network has connected over 1,100 villages in India and Ethiopia and produced over 2,100 videos. It reaches more than 90,000 farmers each week. To learn more, visit DigitalGreen’s web site: www.digitalgreen.org

10 fertilizers & agriculture

GretaGabinete isDirectorof theResearchandDevelopmentCenteratWestVisayasStateUniversityinthePhilippines.Shehas been instrumental in the development and transfer of site-specific nutrient management (SSNM)-based technology forrice in the province of Iloilo in Region VI. Her work has helped farmers to increase rice productivity and improve their incomes. From 2006, she has used a systematic approach involving: the validation of SSNM-based technology for rice, the establish-mentofguidelinesderivedfromSSNMprinciples,thedevelop-ment of locally adapted decision tools and aids for dissemina-tion and for the establishment of partnerships enabling contact with numerous farmers, and ensuring that farmers receive and understand the guidelines for their fields. Anumberofinnovativetools(includingaquickguidetofertil-izingrice,webapplicationsofdecisionsupportsoftwareinthelocallanguage,andvideos)havebeenintroducedandusedtofacilitate technology transfer. By the end of 2009, about 4,000 farmers in the Iloilo province had been reached through train-ing programmes, lectures and demonstration plots. In 2010/11, an additional 2,000 farmers were oriented and trained on the

SSNM technology. Through this approach, yields increased inmost cases, raising farmers’ net incomes by the target level of US$100perhectareperseason.The results of Greta Gabinete’s work have been instrumental in the development of refined web and mobile applications of ‘NutrientManagerforRice’inthePhilippines.

2012 IFA Norman Borlaug LaureateTwo outstanding extensionists have received the 2012 IFA Norman Borlaug Award for excellence in crop nutrition knowledge transfer: Greta Gabinete (Philippines) and Rikin Gandhi (India). The Laureates will receive their prize at the 80th IFA Annual Conference in Doha, Qatar, in May 2012.

Rikin Gandhi – India

Greta Gabinete – Philippines

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80th IFA Annual Conference* 21–23May2012Doha,Qatar

Held on the occasion of the IFA Annual General Meeting during

which the Association’s officers convene, IFA’s main event attracts on average 1,400 participants representing 400 member companies from 75 countries.

It has become a major meeting platform for the global fertilizer industry and is on the agenda of its chief executives and senior management representatives.

IFA events

More conference informationToaccessgeneralandregistrationinformationabouttheseeventsclickon“Events”at:www.fertilizer.org/ifa/Home-Page/EVENTSApocket-sizeeventsbrochurecanalsobedownloaded.

*Restricted to IFA member companies

2012 IFAProduction & InternationalTrade Conference

38th IFA Enlarged Council Meeting* 27–29November2012Rome, Italy

The situation and outlook for the fertilizer industry are examined in this meeting, during which members of the IFA Council and chief executives of its member companies convene to adopt the following year’s budget.

May 2012 11

Production and International Trade Conference*

1–3October2012Dublin,Ireland

This event offers an excellent opportunity to interact with senior executives from major international fertilizer producers and trading companies. A special emphasis will be placed on fertilizer markets, emerging projects, trade flows and the supply of raw materials.

IFA Crossroads Asia-Pacific29–31October2012Manila,Philippines

Focusing on the pivotal Asian region and Pacific basin, IFA’s Crossroads Asia-Pacific is an extremely popular event, with some 300 participants in attendance.

This event is organized under the guidance of the Regional Vice Presidents for all members with an interest in Asia and the Pacific as well as newcomers acquainting themselves with the Association in view of potential membership.

2012 Regional Conference

The IFA Regional Conference took place in Tash-kent,Uzbekistan,on3-4April.Thisisthefirsttime the regional conference has been held in Central Asia. Participation from the region and by the international fertilizer communitywasstrong and diverse. There were 109 participants from 51 companies located in 22 countries.This year’s event was somewhat unique, in that it combined content from IFA’s three standing committeesunderthetheme“ExpandingYourHorizon”.Overthecourseofthetwo-daypro-gramme, participants had the opportunity to learn about global, regional and national mar-ket developments, agricultural development in Central Asia, energy supply and regional fertil-izerprojectdevelopment,andsafetymanage-ment in production. By including a session on safety in production, the Association showcased the importance of safety to the entire industry – demonstrating that safety is a priority for to-day’sfertilizerproducers.

The day before the Conference began, the TechnicalCommitteeorganizedaworkshoponsafeand sustainablephosphate fertilizerpro-duction. The workshop addressed safety issues related to the naturally occurring radioactivity in phosphogypsum and phosphoric acid, as well as the recycling of uranium from phosphoric acid as a potential new revenue source for the sector. Lookingaheadto2013,theTechnicalCommit-tee will organize a three-day “Global SafetySummit and Technical Symposium”. This will be the first time IFA has organized the twoevents in a combined format. Even greater em-phasis will be placed on safety than in previous symposia, while maintaining a rich technical programme over the course of the event. The timing will coincide with the global SHE award ceremony. The recipient will have the opportu-nity to participate in a roundtable discussion.

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12 fertilizers & agriculture

Printed with vegetable-based ink by Point44 on paper from sustainably managed forests.

International Fertilizer Industry Association28,rueMarbeuf,75008Paris,FranceTel:+33153930500Fax:+33153930545/47ifa@fertilizer.orgwww.fertilizer.org

Fertilizers&Agricultureisaquarterlynewsletterpublished by IFA covering issues in relation to fertilizersandsustainableagriculture.

Mailing listSubscriptiontoFertilizers&Agricultureisfreeofcharge. To receive a hard copy, send full address details to be added to the mailing list. Additional copies may be supplied to organizations tocirculate on behalf of IFA. To consult current and past issues of Fertilizers& Agriculture: www.fertilizer.org/ifa/HomePage/LIBRARY/Our-selection2/Fertilizers-Agriculture

ContributionsWe invite your contributions of letters, documents, articles, photographs, etc.

DirectorGeneralofIFA:LucM.MaeneEditor-in-Chief:MorganeDanielouManagingEditorandlayout:ClaudineAholou

Material in F&A may be reproduced only afterprior consent by IFA.

Reference to individuals, publications, research, products, companies or organizations does notindicate endorsement by IFA.

ForinformationonIFA’sactivities:www.fertilizer.org

©InternationalFertilizerIndustryAssociation 2012

The passing of Mr Kenneth L. WindridgeMr Kenneth L. Windridge, former Secre-tary General of the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), passed away on Sunday, 22 January 2012. He retired as Secretary General of IFA on 30 June 1989, following a successful career of 31 years with the Association.Ken Windridge was appointed Secretary General of the International Superphos-phate Manufacturers Association (ISMA) in 1968. I first came into contact with him when IFA was expanding its activities and its membership in Asia, where I was based. We successfully started organizing regional conferences together from 1983 till 1987, when Ken invited me to join IFA. He had just overseen a major restructur-ing of the Secretariat and wanted me to play a role in the further development of the Association in the light of the impor-tance of the emerging economies.As the “institutional memory” of the As-sociation, Ken was of great help in shap-ing what IFA is today. I am grateful for the support and advice he generously provided.

Luc Maene, IFA Director General

On 7-9 March in Rabat, Morocco,theMoroccanphosphate compa-

nyOCPhostedtheinauguralmeetingofthe Global Food Security Forum, an on-going platform and partnership for dia-logueandaction initiatedbyOCP.Themeeting brought together almost 300 experts and officials from50 countriesfor action-oriented debate and collabo-ration on the challenge of sustainably feeding a growing world population.The meeting was co-chaired by OCPChairmanandCEOMostafaTerrabandDr.M.S.Swaminathan,the“fatherofIn-dia’sGreenRevolution”.Morocco’sMin-ister of Agriculture and Fisheries, AzizAkhannouch gave the opening address. Former Brazilian President Luiz InácioLuladaSilvasentaletterofsupportforthe initiative that was read by Roberto Rodrigues, Brazil’s former Minister ofAgriculture.At a time when many interna-tional meetings and initiatives on food security are heavily weighted toward the North,70 per cent of the participants were from the Global South. They represented a widemixof public sector, private sector, civil society, farmer, research and other organizations.Thismixreflectstwofun-damental convictions of the Forum’s or-ganizers:thattheGlobalSouthneedstobe seen not as the locus of the problem of food security, but as a key driver of solutions; also that the challenge is so complex that all parties have to worktogether.The Forum stressed the need to reverse dramatic disinvestment in the agricul-tural sector over the past few decades,

which has been one of the underlying drivers of the food security challenge and of the food price volatility and food supply shocks of recent years. Partici-pants also stressed the importance of re-newed investment in locally appropriate and sustainable innovation, with farm-ers themselves perceived and supported as innovators and entrepreneurs.Participants called for “relegitimizing”

agriculture as an at-tractive, profitable and sustainable livelihood and career, particularly among the younger gen-eration. Finally, they called on developing country governments

and the international community to meet their commitments to agriculture and to push for greater rationaliza-tion and effectiveness among the wide range of international institutions and programmes that support agriculture and food security.The meeting in March is just the firststep in building an ongoing global com-munity of dialogue and action around these issues. In the coming months the Forum will organize working groupson key issues emerging from the Rabat meeting, as well as a series of regional forumsinAfrica,Brazil,Indiaandpossi-bly elsewhere in the second half of 2012. These activities will lead to a larger Global Food Security Forum, with high-level participation by policy makers, in Moroccoinearly2013.For more information: GFSF@ocpgroup.org

OCP launches the Global Food Security Forumby the Global Food Security team

...the Global South needs to be seen not as the lo-cus of the problem of food security...