IFDC Urges Efficient Water and Fertilizer Use to Strengthen World Water Day Message

IFDC board member Margaret Catley-Carlson discusses water conservation

IFDC board member Margaret Catley-Carlson discusses water conservation (click for video)

International Fertilizer Development Center President and CEO Dr. Amit Roy urged water conservation in a salute to UN World Water Day which falls on March 22 annually.

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“Agriculture accounts for approximately 70 percent of the water used around the world,” he explained in a press release. “Training farmers on sustainable farming methods, including proper use of fertilizer with drip irrigation systems, is imperative to ensure water security for the global population. By using water and fertilizer more efficiently, farmers can both reduce groundwater pollution and increase their production,” he said.

“I think that the whole question of how you place fertilizer is just so crucial to water management,” said IFDC board member Margaret Catley-Carlson in an interview.

Plant efficiency decreases water usage and the likelihood of crop protection product runoff.

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The crop protection industry continually adapts to overcome these challenges with innovations like fertilizer deep placement technology which decreases the likelihood that fertilizer will run off into streams and mitigates the effects excess product has on water. Farmers can prevent leaching by timing product application to maximize nutrient uptake. Moisture sensors can also prevent the overuse of water.

The sensitive relationship between water, energy, and food forms a nexus wherein more efficient agriculture, water, and energy practices create global prosperity, which in turn creates greater demand for these resources, according to Catley-Carlson.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization and United Nations University have coordinated World Water Day since 1993 as a way to raise awareness of the importance of managing freshwater resources in a sustainable way. The theme for 2014 is “Water and Energy.”

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