Phosphorus, like nitrogen and potassium, is an essential nutrient1 for plant growth, contributing to root development and maturation.
Phosphate fertilisers, which provide plants with phosphorus when it is lacking in the soil, therefore play an essential role in plant life. They help maintain a high level of agricultural productivity.
Along with irrigation, high-productivity seeds and plant protection products, they are an essential component of food security. Phosphate fertilisers were at the heart of the agricultural revolutions in South America and South-East Asia in the 20th century, and are widely used in emerging and developed countries. However, phosphate fertilisers remain difficult to access in many developing countries. Costly to produce and transport, they are also complex to use, requiring precise agronomic knowledge of soils and plants.
These difficulties are particularly detrimental to the least developed countries, which do not always have the necessary resources in terms of investment and human capital to ensure wider access to these inputs.
This edition of "Commodities at a Glance" seeks to cover these various issues.
The aim is to present phosphate fertilisers and their uses (section 2), as well as the value chain for these products (section 3). the value chain for these fertilisers (section 3).
This analysis will highlight the challenges related to access to these fertilisers and their use in certain developing countries particularly in Africa (section 4).
The environmental issues associated with the production and consumption of phosphate fertilisers are addressed in the final section (section 5).
The concluding section sets out recommendations for public policy with a view to facilitating sustainable and fair access to phosphate fertilisers for all farmers.
