Alfredo Saltos Guale: Global fertilizer crisis | Columnists | Opinion

November 14, 2021 – 00h05

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The food supply is in danger due to the direct impact of the shortage of nitrogenous chemical fertilizers, basic to maintain levels of agricultural productivity as long as they are not replaced by organic ones with equal efficiency. The fact is due to the rise in the raw material for its production, natural gas, which has reached levels never seen before, not even compared to what happened in 2008, now reaching the closure of factories in the United States and Europe, forcing the giant manufacturers Russia and the People’s Republic of China to adopt measures to limit the export quotas of the Russians, while the large Asian producer, China, will cease its world sales.

This situation has caused an increase in the internal part of the countries, reaching the extreme that, having sufficient resources, they cannot find easy provision at reasonable prices and for nations without foreign exchange, the increase in cost will make purchases impossible, which will inevitably affect the plans of crops and the reduction of harvests because the rate of fertilization of the plants will be lost, depending on necessary elements such as nitrogen, there will be no supplies or the recommended quantities for a profitable activity will have to be reduced, in certain cases reaching uncontrollable famines, transforming in dramatic food deficit, which will have contributions beyond the reach of the poorest.

It is necessary to bear in mind that cereals, vegetables and vegetables, including proteins such as meats and dairy products, through the pastures for livestock, have required chemical inputs until they reach the table of consumers, while the prices of raw materials such as wheat and corn have shot up to proportions higher than those of 2012. It is estimated that Brazil, an important supplier of coffee, will have difficulties in sustaining its commitments to export the grain due to a decrease in volumes, attributable to the lack of total nutrition of the plants, which It is given by the richness that the soils have of a minimum of 16 elements that the crops demand.

Faced with this bleak outlook, we must resort to a consistent solution, replacing synthetics with organic materials that are already obtained in our environment, the result of artisan work, whose cost is lower and with attributes favorable to the conservation and regeneration of soils, facilitating the retention of water, without causing environmental damage, or being harmful to the peasants who handle them, worse to those who eat the vegetables that result from them.

The problem reaches the Norwegian Yara, with a turnover of 11,000 million dollars, marketer of a third of ammonia, announcing to its customers that it will cut its manufacturing in Europe by 40%, all determined “by the record prices of natural gas” , predicting that other companies in the same line follow the example in a chain reaction, as the specialized agency Bloomberg maintains (2021). A real threat to the subsistence of humanity is being experienced, aggravated by climate change and the pandemic. (OR)

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