Perspectives from the Executive Director
Human interventions today are so severe
that they alter the boundary of our planet
beyond safe limits, with severe and
unforeseen implications for humans and
nature alike.
Fertilizers undeniably are one of the main
drivers of global change; the fuel for the
engines of the improved crop varieties
that feed the world today. Fertilizers are
a fundamental intervention on all life on
earth, as they boost biological growth by
continuous injection of reactive nutrients
into the biosphere, extracted from inert
forms of nutrients from the atmosphere
and lithosphere.
Prem S. Bindraban
Executive Director, VFRC
Feeding the world’s population sustainably while
simultaneously safeguarding the ecosystem that in turn
provides the services for our agricultural systems is a
significant challenge. Ecological processes are interlinked,
just like the threads of a fishing net, where the entire system
moves by pulling one string only. Pulling too hard or in the
wrong direction pulls our ecosystem out of balance and
sends it into a negative spiral of ecological degradation,
pushing the earth into an anthropogenic geological era.
There is always an opportunity in every
problem, however. The intertwined relations in
ecological processes that lead to degradation
form, at the same time, the most powerful tool
to rebound the process in a positive spiral of
improving human well-being and ecosystem
health. The prime factor for a paradigm
shift in our world of fertilizers will have to be
embedded in ecological literacy, allowing us
to exploit ecological synergies to minimize
human intervention while serving human
needs and sustaining our ecosystem.
Transforming the world of fertilizers through
any solution emerging from our ecological
knowledge with significant socio-economic
implications will have to be rooted in the
minds of multiple actors and stakeholders.
Collective actions will be needed at global
and local levels, with decisions for strategic,
tactical and operational interventions in
time and space.
Over the past five years, VFRC has set the
stage for identifying promising fertilizer
products and technologies to bend the
curve from degradation toward reaping the
benefits from ecological synergy that allows
for the enhancement of crop yields, the
reduction of losses to the environment and
the improvement of human and ecosystem
health. The VFRC continues to call upon
the research community, industry leaders,
policymakers and civil society organizations
to join forces and collectively walk these
promising paths to serve society and ecology.
The intertwined relations in ecological processes that
lead to degradation due to human interventions form
at the same time the most powerful tool to bend the
curve in a positive spiral of ecosystem health
and improving human well-being.
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