Fertilizer plays an important role in the fight against hunger

May 31, 2014 

Nutrition has now become one of the most important problems in the world. According to the 2012 report issued by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the number of people suffering from hunger in the world was reached to 1 billion from 840 million in 1996. The drought experienced in the last years has also played an important role in this rapid increase. The first week of June is accepted as the “Week for the Global Fight Against Hunger” every year in order to attract attention to gradually increasing threat of hunger and malnutrition. During the week, that fall on the dates of May 30-June 5 this year, public institutions, non-governmental organisations and international organisations share with the public the studies that they have conducted throughout the year by means of various events.

Statistics about hunger and malnutrition are drastic. According to the FAO’s data while nearly 10 million of people die of starvation every year, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted all over the world every year. This amount is equal to the total yearly food production of Sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, one in 7 people go to bed hungry every night and 20 thousand children under the age of 5 die of hunger every day in the world.

The demand for consumption products has reached to unsustainable levels all over the world. With the global economy that has grown 7-fold in the last 50 years, the natural resources have started to be depleted rapidly. If an ecosystem-friendly lifestyle is not adopted in the near future, there are issues of concern indicating that the deteriorations in the natural balance resulting from human activities and environmental pollution will reach to extremely significant levels and the threat of hunger will become a global problem. Since food wastes also cause consumption of water, soil, and energy, it increases greenhouse gas emissions and constitute a threat for natural assets. Experts state that if natural resources are not effectively used, global health problems will not come to an end.

When we look at the consumption map of the world, we see that there is a quite unfair situation. Conscious and balanced consumption may play a very important role in prevention of hunger in the world. On the other hand, the failure in growth of agricultural areas despite the rapid increase in the global population makes the threat of hunger one of the greatest risks for the future. Use of resources in a sustainable manner is of vital importance for reducing child deaths and raising healthy individuals in the future. According to the FAO’s estimates, there is a burden of approximately 3.5 trillion dollars falling on the global economy every year merely due to malnutrition, loss of efficiency and health expenses. Conscious consumption not only increases the life quality of people; but also increases their efficiency and plays an important role in the maintenance of a healthy economy.

According to the studies conducted by the World Bank, the agricultural industry has an important role in decreasing poverty. Emphasizing in every speech that nutrition and food safety is one of the key issues for the future, Esin Mete, President of IFA (International Fertilizer Industry Association) and Toros Agri, lays emphasis on the importance of fertilizer sector in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

Enrichment of fertilizers with microelements such as zinc and iodine, etc. in addition to the elements that are already contained in fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphor and potassium, yields promising results for better nutrition. This is important not only for developing countries, but also for developed countries as well. In fact, fortification of soils poor in nutrients with microelements not only helps increase the product yield, but also contributes in improvement of societies in a healthier manner.

Zinc-added compound fertilizers produced by Toros Agri for the first time in Turkey may set a good example of it. Use of zinc-added fertilizers makes important contributions for reducing zinc deficiency commonly observed among people. Since plants can absorb zinc from the soil, people consuming them can also achieve bioavailability from the zinc.

Having adopted the mission of increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing farmers’ welfare from the very first day of its incorporation, Toros Agri believes that the fertilizer sector is also one of the key players for eradication of hunger. As a matter of fact, the increased yield that can be achieved through correct and balanced use of proper fertilizers may assume an important role in overcoming this great danger that humanity faces.