1381 participants from 72 countries discussed sustainable food production, food security, and the fight against hunger and malnutrition in Istanbul

28/05/2015

IFA engages in activities for the benefit of society, supporting the development of new products, by creating a negotiation climate for agencies and organizations as well as their commercial partners and mediators. IFA has held its Annual Conference in Istanbul which has hosted IFA’s Annual Conference for the third time after 1994 and 2007.

Along with Esin Mete, President of IFA, and Charlotte Hebebrand, Director of General of IFA, 1381 participants from 72 countries participated in the conference. Dr. Pedro Sanchez, Director of the Agriculture and Food Security Center at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, who is one of the most prominent soil scientist of the world, attended as a speaker on the occasion that 2015 is the International Year of Soils at the opening session, where many members of the press were also present.
Food Security First

Healthy soil for a sustainable food production, food security, fighting hunger and malnutrition, the benefits of fertilizers for soil productivity and human health were the topics that were discussed at the conference. Esin Mete, who holds the presidency of the IFA with her successful performance for the past two years, the CEO of Tekfen Holding Agri-Industry Group and CEO of Toros Tarım, gave a speech at the opening session of the conference. Esin Mete began her address expressing her gratitude for hosting this conference in the historically rich city of Istanbul where two continents meet. Mete remarked that this meeting of IFA in Istanbul, in its new and dynamic format, will create the opportunity to rethink and step into action with regard to sustainable food production: “Sustainable food production is crucial for the future of the world and for raising healthy generations. International fertilizer industry aims at helping the sustainability of global food production, and positions itself as a part of the agriculture industry. In this respect, IFA is working in close partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). During my two-year presidency at the IFA, I have put an effort in raising awareness on these issues by addressing them in various platforms. As IFA, we have carried out many events and projects that aimed at attracting the attention of the public and decision makers on the topic of food security, which is the most crucial aspect of welfare and sustainable development.”

International Year of Soils
In her speech, Esin Mete also touched upon the significance of healthy soil for human life: “Healthy soils are of vital importance for food security and economic development, yet this topic is often overlooked. This is why the members of IFA have set as a target for themselves rehabilitating unhealthy soils while protecting and managing healthy soils in a sustainable way.” Mete highlighted that soil health is becoming a current issue on the agenda in every platform, adding: “United Nations has declared 2015 as the ‘International Year of Soils’ for the first time, recognizing this fact which is accepted by everyone. Our industry was the first private sector initiative that made a commitment to join activities and awareness-raising efforts on this topic. We continue to take an active role and talk about the role fertilizer industry plays in generating healthy soils, and about the significance of healthy soils for human life.”
Correct use of plant nutrients and healthy soils
Esin Mete said that in the last couple of years, IFA has taken the lead on more effective and productive use of plant nutrients, helping farmers concentrate on sustainable agriculture, adding: “Fertilizers play a vital role in protecting healthy soils and in making degraded soils healthy again. Fertilizers make a crucial contribution in the prevention of land degeneration and desertification. Together with the correct use of plant nutrients, fertilizers help generate healthy soils while support in reaching the targets in food security, economic progress and sustainable development.”
Mete informed that the basis of IFA’s 2013-2014 activity program is the topic of “correct and balanced plant nutrient” which is named as “nutrient stewardship”: “The awareness raising campaigns we conduct with the title of ‘4R’ (4 Rights) aim at creating a global impact on this topic and show farmers concretely how they can achieve yield increase.” Another project that IFA has emphasized in the past two years has been the enrichment of plant nutrients with microelements, Mete said. “Aiming to increase the nutritive value of foods, this project showed that the microelements that are added to the soil, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, both increase productivity and contribute to the prevention of health issues that arise from the deficiency of these elements.” Mete further added that the industrial production of zinc fertilizers first began under the leadership of Toros Tarım, and she is proud that this made a global impact as a success story and served as an model for many countries.
Pedro Sanchez: “Fertilizers boost the immune system of the soil”
The keynote speaker of the conference IFA held in Istanbul was Dr. Pedro Sanchez, one of the  prominent soil experts of the world. In his speech, Sanchez talked about the significance of fertilizers in soil health from the perspective of the industry and food security. Sanchez emphasized the importance of plant nutrition: “Feeding plants through fertilizers boosts the immune system of the soil just like in humans and increase its strength against infections. A correctly implemented, balanced plant nutrition supplies the nutrients that are required by the plants to grow while it increases economic return through increasing productivity. What is crucial is informed utilization; for this, a good soil analysis and the use of proper products for plant nutrition are required.”
Mete: “A new era begins in global economy”
Mete also gave messages about the future in her speech: “I think it is very important that the programs developed to ensure that the products of the industry become more sensitive to the environment and human health are embraced and implemented. I also find it promising that practices that support developed product applications are becoming widespread. I have closely observed these promising developments in the implementation stage of the project titled ‘Protect and Sustain’, which is the only valid fertilizer-specific global certification program by IFA.”
Mete made important statements about 2015: “In 2015, a new era begins in global economy. The new situation that has emerged point to a period in which responsible business practices become more visible and applicable. This is why as industry, we should strengthen the management style we display, and develop local and global partnerships. With great honor, we have taken significant steps in this direction during my Presidency that I have assumed for two years, and I believe that the new management will carry this onward. Of course, the International Year of Soils is not limited to 2015 for IFA. The members of IFA will continue to talk about the importance of healthy soils all around the world. We will continue to talk about the role fertilizers play in food security to all the actors who are in the decision-making positions.”