Virtual R&D Network for Innovative Fertilizers
The VFRC has engaged in developing
strategic collaborations with renowned
institutions and scientists by visiting
R&D institutions. It has reached out to
institutions in open calls to help build
the scientific backbone for VFRC’s views
through critical review analyses for
setting out search pathways for innovative
fertilizer products and technologies. At
present, over 60 scientists worldwide
from over 15 international and national
institutions are directly engaged in VFRCrelated R&D activities. The VFRC also
establishes relationships with fertilizer
industry players through participation in
conferences of fertilizer associations and
visits to fertilizer enterprises on invitation
or request. With the engagement
in national and global dialogues at
conferences and consortia meetings,
VFRC introduces the needs for a paradigm
shift in fertilizers to a wider audience,
including NGOs and policymakers, to
create momentum for a global platform,
including a VFRC stakeholder dialogue
meeting. It exchanged ideas and insights
on the technicalities of fertilizer solutions
and the processes to be pursued for
engaging a wider audience to catalyze a
transformation in the world of fertilizers.
The results of these institutional interactions
and dialogues indicate that the effort of the
VFRC on R&D for innovative fertilizers are
relevant, important and timely, and could
become a game-changer. The fundamental
nature of fertilizers in the broader context
of soil fertility and their wide ranging
implications to serve multiple societal
objectives need to be clearly conveyed to a
wider audience. There is a call to collectivity
create broader ownership and an inclusive
governance processes to move the VFRC
initiatives forward. Concerns were raised
that required scientific expertise to take on
R&D for innovative fertilizer, as outlined by
VFRC, to be rebuilt. Strong public-private
partnerships should be built to reap the
multiple benefits from innovative fertilizers.
Particular interest has been expressed
by the industry sector in testing fertilizer
products for the growing African demand
where tuning of fertilizer products is
especially needed for the specific soil and
agro-ecological conditions. Notably, the
initial and evolving VFRC R&D agenda has
been based on these interactions.
27