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Forgotten fertiliser

February 25, 2010 - 00:00 GMT

KEYWORDS: Fertiliser , potash , phosphate , NPK , food security

As government attention turns to kick starting shattered economies, global food security and the role of fertiliser minerals is put on the back burner

Western governments, which were the driving force behind a push for a significant increase in global food production in the wake of a rocketing population, have turned their attentions to more immediate and pressing internal issues.

courtesy Lars Ploughmann

Last month the subject was gingerly back in the spotlight following protests in India against the introduction of a genetically modified (GM) aubergine (brinjal). The proposal was suspended for future consideration; however, the food supply problem in India will not go away. The country’s population is set to overtake China’s in 2030 and domestic food production is not positioned to satisfy this.

If the GM decision was successful it would have opened India the world’s second most densely populated country with 1.13 billion people to 56 other GM crops. The furore was sparked by the moral implications of such a development, but the key issue at play is one of...

All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. © Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.

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