UN food official calls on governments and business to prevent land degradation

A senior United Nations food official called on governments and the private sector today to join forces to ensure continued agricultural production and eliminate hunger by preventing the depletion of nutrient stocks in the soil.

Opening "Global Food Security and the Role of Sustainable Fertilization", a high-level conference in Rome jointly organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), FAO Deputy Director-General David Harcharik said the campaign to eradicate poverty and hunger, and to increase agricultural production while making sustainable use of natural resources, was a joint effort shared by both public and private institutions.

Mr. Harcharik noted that many developing countries needed to apply more plant nutrients to meet agricultural development goals. He stated that integrated plant nutrition management provided by judicious use of both mineral and organic fertilizers is necessary for sustainable agricultural development.

The depletion of nutrient stocks in the soil, which is occurring in many developing countries, is a major but often hidden form of land degradation, making agricultural production unsustainable, according to FAO.

Major topics to be discussed include the challenges for successfully managing fertilizers in commercial farming systems in both developed and developing countries as well as under subsistence conditions. With an emphasis on future actions, the conference also covers emerging technologies and knowledge about crop nutrient management, links between fertilizer use and human nutrition and the contribution of various sectors including the fertilizer industry, international organizations, governments and researchers.