VFRC Publications | Page 17

VFRC’s Conceptual Framework The VFRC Cockpit To address such a comprehensive and fundamental issue, VFRC created a conceptual framework incorporating systematic descriptions of agro-ecosystems and life-cycle processes of nutrients. It helped to structure plant-soil-microbeswater-nutrient related processes and types of fertilizer interventions. Describing relevant processes following basic production ecological principles provide a scientific birdseye view, or a “cockpit” overview (Figure 7), of intervention options along the entire chain of mineral fertilizer production, agricultural production and environmental losses, grouped in seven distinguishable areas. Prioritization of search pathways for innovative fertilizers and fertilization technologies should be based on a backbone of fundamental state-of-the-art knowledge. This will prevent haphazard interventions and allow systematic search for innovative solutions to leapfrog the agrotechnical, environmental and socioeconomic hurdles associated with fertilizers. Leapfrogging development: Mobile phones transform agriculture. 13