soil of nutrients. Our goal was to help
smallholders increase use efficiency,
thereby reducing losses and earning more
money. We began by researching the
effects of coating urea and changing its
physical form. This research has achieved
tremendous success over the years, leading
to climate-smart technologies such as
urea deep placement (UDP). Our nitrogen
program is still making great strides.
Phosphorus fertilizer also presented a
challenge because the tropical soils’
composition in South America and subSaharan Africa fixed available phosphorus
from water-soluble phosphorus fertilizers,
thus drastically reducing its availability to
plants. When solving a problem, we try to
benefit the farmer directly. Our scientists
looked for ways for farmers to directly
apply locally available phosphate rock
to their soils. This method would make
phosphorus accessible and affordable for
smallholder farmers. Our research shows
that this is a sustainable possibility, and we
are continuing to learn more about making
this approach economical for farmers.
The early structure of IFDC was like an
“assembly line” for developing these
technologies and taking them to farmers.
Three divisions worked together to get new
fertilizer innovations out of the lab and into
the field.
Most projects began in the Agro-Economic
Division, which identified farmer needs
and envisioned efficiency-increasing
solutions. The Fertilizer Technology Division
made these ideas into reality. Part of this
division’s work was solving technical and
economic issues related to new production
technologies. Finally, the Outreach Division rolled out the knowledge and products, taking
them to farmers, engineers and other agriculture professionals.
“The early structure of IFDC was
like an ‘assembly line’ for
developing these technologies
and taking them to farmers.”
This structure gave way to great success in IFDC’s first decade. But by the mid-1980s, political
environments and agricultural technology were changing and advancing rapidly. The time
came for IFDC to make its first major realignment, a move that would define the organization’s
impact for the next 30 years.
IFDC Magazine
9