Feeding a growing global population – a central challenge

---

With our fertilizers, we make an important contribution to feeding a growing global population. By the middle of this century, the world’s population will grow from today’s figure of just under seven billion people to more than nine billion. To ensure that it will be fed, agricultural output will have to increase by about 2% per year while the land available for cultivation worldwide is declining. Increasing urbanisation, especially in Asia, is having a damaging effect on agricultural land. The loss of agricultural land can only be made up for by professional and more efficient farming, which, in turn, can only be achieved through a greater use of mineral fertilizers.

Enlarge

However, supplying the population of the world with food is not just a quantitative but increasingly a qualitative challenge too. While the ratio of meat to cereals consumption in Western Europe as well as in North America and Latin America over the past 30 years has essentially remained the same, meat consumption in Asia has more than trebled.

Although consumption per capita remains lower than in western countries, the influence on agriculture has been considerable. Increases in animal husbandry require increased production of grain and fodder, and that entails making greater use of fertilizers.

Enlarge

Sustainable agriculture must ensure that soil fertility is retained or improved by returning to the soil the important nutrients that are removed as a result of harvesting. K+S is currently running about 200 field tests all over the world. They attest to the particular importance of "balanced fertilization," which entails ensuring that all important nutrients are mixed together in the right proportions when fertilizers are applied.

What matters in this respect is not only the absolute quantity of the fertilizers applied but that the nutrients which are being supplied are accepted by plants and can be translated into yields and quality.

By means of intelligent, sustainable fertilizer systems, K+S supports its customers with professional and scientifically-based advice that extends all the way to end applications. In addition to the results of field tests, tailor-made fertilizer recommendations are also based on the targeted research activities conducted at the Limburgerhof agricultural centre. K+S is constantly working on the development of new products and nutrient combinations that meet the needs of individual crops even better and satisfy our customers’ requirements in terms of top-quality products. We support more efficient and more sustainable agriculture combined with careful treatment of the environment at the same time.