In a January 2008 letter to Roy, the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and father of the Green Revolution, said, “The work of the Green Revolution is not yet finished and I believe it will take a new round of technological advancement, political commitment, commercial development and a lot of hard work to complete the job.”

Borlaug’s letter to Roy continued, “We need to develop new products that will deliver just the nutrients that the growing plants require and to diminish environmental externalities. We need to invest in this sort of advanced fertilizer research and we need to coordinate it with advanced plant genetic research so that we can achieve synergy between more efficient use of available nutrients by plants and more efficient delivery of nutrients by fertilizer products. And we need to develop systems that can make these products cheaper and more accessible to farmers. We need to cut the cost of food production so that developing country farmers can produce affordable food to feed their growing urban populations.”

Dr. Jimmy Cheek, chancellor of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville (USA), has agreed to chair the Advisory Board of the VFRC. “The VFRC can develop a new suite of crop nutrients that will revolutionize agriculture in the developing world,” Cheek said. “I am proud to be associated with the effort and recognize its urgency and importance.”

Cheek was appointed chancellor of the University of Tennessee, a top public research university, in early 2009. Prior to his move to Knoxville, Cheek served as the senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida (USA).

“It is fitting that IFDC is leading the global, virtual search for the next generation of crop nutrient products,” Roy stated. IFDC was created in October 1974 as a center of excellence with expertise in fertilizers to service the needs of developing countries. IFDC is an outgrowth of the National Fertilizer Development Center (NFDC) of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The majority of fertilizers in use worldwide were developed at the NFDC and/or IFDC.

IFDC was created during a period of crisis, similar to the crises that occurred in 2007-08. There were global food shortages in the early 1970s. Energy shortages were becoming commonplace, and fertilizers were also in short supply. The prices of agricultural inputs (fertilizers, seeds and crop protection products) needed to help produce food skyrocketed. All of these factors put the developing countries at a distinct disadvantage, a press release said.

The world food supply has managed to stay ahead of rising population due to increasing productivity and a modest expansion of cultivated area. However, non-renewable resource reserves (such as phosphates and potash), increasing energy costs and the growing cost to the environment when bringing more land under cultivation pose new challenges. Fertilizer research and development can make a major contribution in addressing the challenges faced by Africa and Asia.

Global food security depends on a focused effort to improve soil fertility and increase productivity of food crops, and fertilizer plays a major role. The production and use of current fertilizer products must be improved. Recent advances in nanotechnology and biotechnology open new opportunities for collaborative research between the public and private sectors. To provide the world the next generation of fertilizers, the private sector must play a significant role in partnership with public institutions. (Courtesy: PRWeb)

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