Latest News Release From IFDC:

02.19.08
World Fertilizer Prices Soar as Food and Fuel Economies Merge

02.05.08
An Interview With Mark Davies

12.28.07
Bangladesh Will Dramatically Expand Technology That Doubles Efficiency of Urea Fertilizer Use

12.25.07
On Use and Abuse of Pesticides

11.16.07
Experts task NAFDAC on substandard pesticides

12.03.07
Vo-Tong Xuan Named to IFDC Board

IFDC’s Phosphate Rock Decision Support System is Available on the Web
(Posted June 10, 2007)

IFDC scientists, in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have developed a Phosphate Rock Decision Support System (PRDSS) to predict the feasibility of phosphate rock (PR) for direct application to crops. PRDSS is available on the FAO/IAEA web site http://www.iswam.iaea.org/dapr/srv/en/resources. It is identified as Direct Application of Phosphate Rock. 

There is a renewed worldwide interest in PR for direct application because PR is a natural raw material that is a nutrient-rich source for phosphorus, according to Dr. Upendra Singh, IFDC Senior Scientist—Systems Modeling (Soil Fertility). “Interest in PR as an organic fertilizer could open future markets to exports from developing countries,” Singh says. There are abundant PR deposits in Africa.

PRDSS results from 25 years of evaluation of PR applied to crops in Latin America, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The decision support tool functions with minimal input: soil pH, PR source, and crop species. PRDSS can also use farm gate prices to determine if water-soluble phosphate or PR is more economical.

The web-based tool is user-friendly and easy to navigate, says Dr. Henk Breman, IFDC Principal Scientist and Adviser to the project Catalyzing Acceleration of Agricultural Intensification for Stability and Sustainability (CATALIST), based in Rwanda. “I have used PRDSS on the web site to compare rock from Burundi and Tanzania. Even as a layman, I was able to obtain answers.”

A technical article about the tool, “Development of a Phosphate Rock Decision Support System for Direct Application,” by Suzette Smalberger, Upendra Singh, Sen H. Chien, Julio Henao, and Paul W. Wilkens, was published in the May-June 2006 issue of Agronomy Journal

AFRICAN HEADS OF STATE COMMIT TO FAR-REACHING REFORMS TO REDUCE STEEP PRICE OF FERTILIZER AND START A GREEN REVOLUTION IN AFRICA

ABUJA, NIGERIA (13 June 2006)—Heads of state and governments from more than 40
African nations agreed today to lift all cross-border taxes and tariffs on fertilizer,
designating mineral and organic fertilizer as a “strategic commodity.” They also agreed
to establish an African fertilizer financing mechanism within the African Development
Bank to significantly increase the availability and access to fertilizer on the continent.

June 13, 2006 | Read Full Release

PETER MCPHERSON AND RUDY RABBINGE: "FERTILIZER SUBSIDIES WITHOUT BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINING WILL LEAVE AFRICA JUST ONE SEASON AWAY FROM THE NEXT FOOD CRISIS"

Abuja, Nigeria (13 June 2006) – In remarks to the first Africa Fertilizer Summit, Peter
McPherson and Rudy Rabbinge, two members of the Summit’s Eminent Persons Advisory Group, strongly supported an African-led approach to solving the continent's food and agricultural crisis permanently. Peter McPherson is the founding co-chair of the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa and former USAID Administrator.  As Administrator, McPherson was responsible for the U.S. program that delivered two million tons of food to Africa during the great famine of 1984-85. Prof. Rudy Rabbinge is Chairman of the United Nations Panel on Food Security and Agricultural Productivity in Africa and a member of the Dutch Parliament.

June 13, 2006 | Read Full Release

Nigerian Company Re-opens Only Urea Fertilizer Plant In Sub-Saharan Africa to Meet Summit Call for African Green Revolution

ABUJA, NIGERIA (12 June 2006)—The re-opening of the only urea fertilizer plant in sub-Saharan Africa that manufactures urea—and one of the world’s largest fertilizer plants—was announced at the Africa Fertilizer Summit in Abuja 9-13 June.

June 13, 2006 | Read Full Release

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug Challenges African Leaders to Marshal Political Will to Start an African Green Revolution

ABUJA, NIGERIA (11 June 2006) -- Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug, best known for saving millions of people in Asia and Latin America from hunger through the scientific and technological innovations known as the “Green Revolution,” urged African agriculture ministers, politicians and others to find the political will to start an African Green Revolution by replenishing the continent’s severely depleted soils. Some threequarters
of Africa’s lands south of the Sahara are severely degraded.

June 11, 2006 | Read Full Release

Experts at Africa Summit Highlight Challenges and Promise of Increasing Farm Yield to End Hunger

ABUJA, NIGERIA, 9 June 2006—The largest and most comprehensive effort to tackle Africa’s soil fertility crisis – the Africa Fertilizer Summit - opened in Abuja today. Leading African and international policymakers and agricultural experts highlighted both the significant challenges that African farmers face as a result of declining soil fertility, and the potential productivity gains from even modest fertilizer use.

June 9, 2006 | Read Full Release

African and Global Leaders Convene To Revive Africa’s Failing Agriculture

With new data showing that at least three-quarters of African farmland south of the
Sahara is plagued by severe degradation – creating perpetually low farm yields across a continent plagued by hunger –African and global development leaders will gather for a Summit in Abuja, Nigeria on June 9-13. The Summit will devise an action-plan and specific steps to end Africa’s soil fertility crisis. The Africa Fertilizer Summit will be convened by the African Union through its New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), hosted by the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and chaired by His Excellency, Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria and Chairman of the African Union’s Implementation Committee.

June 9, 2006 | Read Full Release

Global Leaders Launch Effort to Turn Around Africa’s Failing Agriculture

New Study Reports Three-Quarters of African Farmlands Plagued by Severe Degradation

NEW YORK (30 March 2006) About 75 percent of the farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is plagued by severe degradation, losing basic soil nutrients needed to grow the crops that feed Africa, according to a new report released today on the precipitous decline in African soil health from 1980 to 2004.  Africa’s crisis in food production and battle with hunger are largely rooted in this “soil health crisis.”

March 30, 2006 | Read Full Release

“There is Money in the Soil” and Djaka Kope Farmers Want It

“There is money in the soil” sing the joyful groups of men and women farmers gathered for the second annual rural workshop in Djaka Kope, a village in the Maritime region of southern Togo.  This signifies a significant shift of focus from a technology-oriented to a market-oriented agricultural development approach.  Conducted on Thursday, September 15, 2005, the workshop attracted 200 farmers representing 15 farmer-based organizations known as “Greniers Villageois” (GV)–Village Granaries and 6 GV unions.  The Institute of Technical Advice and Support (ICAT), the Togolese Institute for Agricultural Research (ITRA), Campaign for a Sustainable Development (C2D), the Center for Research and Trials on Self -Promotion Models (CREMA), and IFDC jointly organized the workshop.

October 18, 2005 | Read Full Release

IFDC Presents “Hope for West Africa's Agri-Input Market”

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 12 October, 2005 – The IFDC Marketing Inputs Regionally (MIR) project recently produced a 26- minute documentary on the agri-input market in West Africa.  Produced in both English and French, this video deals with the importance of developing an open, dynamic and competitive agri-input market to increase agricultural productivity in West Africa. It addresses West African stakeholders of the public sector (ministries, regional and/or sub-regional institutions), private sector (economic operators/suppliers); farmer-based organizations (producers and producers’ associations), the West African civil society, development partners, and the international public.

October 12, 2005 | Read Full Release

IFDC part of effort to relieve famine in Niger

Doctors without Borders, UNICEF, other world organizations and numerous government agencies are rushing aid to Nigeriens left without food when drought and insects wiped out their crops.  UNICEF reports about 3.6 million people, including 800,000 children 5 and younger, have been affected by the food shortages in Niger. Doctors without Borders reports treating more than 12,000 Nigerien children suffering from malnutrition.

August 10, 2005 | Read Full Release

Cotton Conference of West and Central Africa, Organized by CORAF/WECARD, INRAB and IFDC, Proves Successful

Cotonou, Benin, June 13, 2005—Cotonou, Benin, was the setting for the Cotton Conference of West and Central Africa, conducted during May 10-12, 2005. The main theme of the workshop was “The Evolution in Progress in the Cotton Sub-Sectors: Consequences for Research and the Acquisition of Inputs by Farmers.” This conference aimed at meeting the expectations expressed by the partners of the sub-sector, namely researchers, producers, inputs suppliers, ginners, spinners and seeds manufacturers and the umbrella organizations—the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) and CropLife.

June 13, 2005 | Read Full Release

Toward a Regulatory Framework for the Registration of Crop Protection Products in West Africa

Abomey Calavi, Benin, June 13, 2005—Under the aegis of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and UEMOA (West Africa Economic and Monetary Union), a regional consultative workshop was held during April 5-6, 2005, at the Abomey Calavi, Benin station of IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture). The goal of the workshop was to develop a roadmap for harmonizing the regulatory framework for crop protection products (CPPs) in West Africa. The workshop was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of CropLife Africa and the Middle East

June 13, 2005 | Read Full Release

Working in Collaboration with IFDC and FAO, WAEMU Plants the Seeds of a Regional Seed Law

Lome, Togo, December 30, 2004—A regional workshop was held in Lome during November 25-26, 2004, to review and validate two technical reports that will serve as building blocks for harmonizing seed laws and regulations governing seed marketing within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). This workshop was the second of a series of meetings initiated under WAEMU’s leadership with funding support from the IFDC Managing Inputs Regionally (MIR) project and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). MIR is funded by the Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation (DGIS). The German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) and the West Africa Seed Network (WASNET) are technical collaborators in this endeavor.

December 30, 2004 | Read Full Release

Archived News Releases from IFDC:

The Federation of African Agri-Input Trade Associations (FACIA) is Born
October 21, 2004 | Read Full Release

Dr. Peter McPherson Named IFDC’s New Board Chair
October 21, 2004 | Read Full Release

Kyrgyz Trade Association Achieves Remarkable Lobbying Feat
June 16, 2004 | Read Full Release

CTA/IFDC Workshop Strengthens Market Information Systems in West Africa
June 8, 2004 | Read Full Release

IFDC and CILSS Formalize Their Cooperation
June 4, 2004 | Read Full Release

IFDC Launches a Network to Support Agricultural Intensification in Sub-Saharan Africa
March 20, 2004 | Read Full Release

IFDC Taps New Director of its Africa Division
January 14, 2004 | Read Full Release

A Regional Input Market (MIR) Project Paves the Way for Regional Integration in West Africa
November 26, 2003 | Read Full Release

IFDC Conducts Policy Workshop in Baku, Azerbaijan
April 28, 2003 | Read Full Release

West African Partners Launch the MIR Project
April 28, 2003 | Read Full Release

The Burkina Faso Government and IFDC Strengthen Their Cooperation
March 10, 2003 | Read Full Release

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate to Visit IFDC
February 27, 2003 | Read Full Release

IFDC Africa Inaugurates the AFAMIN Website
February 27, 2003 | Read Full Release

Second Regional Meeting of Agricultural Input Sector Trade Associations Paves Way for Regional Federation
February 27, 2003 | Read Full Release

Symposium on Policy Reforms Stresses Need to Advance Regional Integration to Support Agricultural Market Development in West Africa
February 27, 2003 | Read Full Release

IFDC Innovative Technology Increases Farmers’ Agricultural Productivity, Maintains Resource Base
December 16, 2002 | Read Full Release

Field trip: Afghan Minister Comes to Colbert for Farm Advice
December 16, 2002 | Read Full Release

Tiny Bees Unite Kosovar Serbs and Kosovar Albanians
December 11, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Contributes to the Restoration of Afghanistan's Library Collections
December 11, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Scientists Say Plight of Farmers Spans the Globe
October 28, 2002 | Read Full Release

Farmers Get Help From Outer Space
October 19, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Receives Grant from USAID for Ghana Project
September 30, 2002 | Read Full Release

David J. Garms Joins IFDC
September 30, 2002 | Read Full Release

Local Agency Helps on World Stage
September 4, 2002 | Read Full Release

Training of Afghan Farmers and Agricultural Inputs Dealers, an Integral Part of IFDC Project
August 29, 2002 | Read Full Release

Let it grow: IFDC helps Afghan farmers bring home the harvest
August 27, 2002 | Read Full Release

Rebuilding Afghanistan’s Agriculture Sector—One Brick at a Time
August 26, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Technical Assistance in Afghanistan Has Many Facets
August 20, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC-Developed Voucher System Paves Way for Afghan Competitive Market
August 19, 2002 | Read Full Release

Toward a Greener Future in Afghanistan
Mangoes, Cherries and Nuts Return to the Marketplace
August 16, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC and USAID in Afghanistan
Building a More Fertile Future for the Agriculture Sector
August 15, 2002 | Read Full Release

Afghanistan Farmers and Fertilizer Dealers Profit from IFDC’s Project in Their Country
June 18, 2002 | Read Full Release

Former Director of IFDC’s Outreach Division Jim Schultz Passes Away
May 20, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Decision Support System :  Feasibility of Legume Use
May 6, 2002 | Read Full Release

Let It Grow:  IFDC Helping Afghan Farmers
May 1, 2002 | Read Full Release

Ian Gregory Named Director of IFDC’s Market Development Division
April 11, 2002 | Read Full Release

Agribusiness Project in Kyrgyzstan Makes Strides
March 29, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Project in Bangladesh Improves Quality of Life for Farm Families
March 28, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC to Help Revitalize Agricultural Production in Afghanistan
March 13, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Plants Seeds of Change in Azerbaijan
March 05, 2002 | Read Full Release

Regional Partners of the Integrated Soil Fertility Management Project Evaluate Achievements and Prospects
March 05, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Releases New Publication--Implications of the Uruguay Round Agreements for Agriculture and Agribusiness Development in Bangladesh
February 28, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Launches Nigeria Project
February 20, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC’s Africa Division Strengthens Trade Associations Involved in Fertilizer, Seeds and Plant Protection Sectors
January 11, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC Restructures to Accommodate Expanded Mandate
January 2, 2002 | Read Full Release

IFDC-Africa Strengthens Peasant and Farmers’ Organizations
November 20, 2001 | Read Full Release

IFDC-Albania’s Chief of Party, Claude Freeman Receives Golden Award from Government of Albania
October 24, 2001 | Read Full Release

IFDC Roundup--Fertilizers and Agriculture, November 2001
October 24, 2001 | See Press Release for more details

Foundation of the Alliance of Kosova Agribusiness
September 07, 2001 | See Press Release for more details

Nigerian Delegation Visits IFDC
August 07, 2001 | See Press Release for more details

IFDC Conducts Workshop on Phosphate Rock in Malaysia
July 30, 2001 | See Press Release for more details

"Seeing is Believing" for Kosovar Farmers
June 27, 2001 | See Press Release for more details

Seminar in Pristina Focuses on Future of Agriculture in Kosovo
June 27, 2001 | See Press Release for more details

First Congress of Albanian Agribusiness Council (KASH) Draws Impressive Audience
June 06, 2001 | See Press Release for more details

IFDC’s Project in Albania Nourishes Budding Agribusinesses
June 06, 2001 | See Press Release for more details

IFDC Project in Albania Advances that Country’s Economic Growth
May 02, 2000 | See Press Release for more details

Special Recognition of IFDC by Farm Chemicals International
December 08, 1999 | See Press Release for more details

Muscle Shoals Organization Helping Fertilize World's Fields
November 29, 1999 | See Press Release for more details

New IFDC Video Focuses on Soil Health and Agribusiness Development in Africa, Bangladesh, and Albania
November 16, 1999 | See Press Release for more details

New Fertilizer Manual Released
April 10, 1998 | See Press Release for more details