Tag: IFA

The International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) has appointed Henk van Duijn as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as of January 1st 2023. Van Duijn brings more than 30 years of experience in agriculture and international development, with a focus on Europe, Africa, and Asia. Prior to his selection as IFDC President and CEO, van Duijn served as Vice President, Corporate Services, and Chief Operations and Finance Officer at IFDC. Before that, he headed the 2SCALE program (2019-2021) and served as CEO of Bopinc (2014-2019). As a diplomat and civil service director in the Netherlands, van Duijn led the design, startup, and implementation of large-scale interdisciplinary programs as well as national and international public-private partnerships in Europe, Africa, and Asia. He holds a master’s degree in Land and Water Management from Wageningen University & Research.

The curtailment of ammonia production in Europe and reduction in export supply from Russia has led to an unprecedented year for the merchant ammonia market.

The war in Ukraine has severely affected the supply of ammonium nitrate and CAN from Russia and Ukraine, with particular potential impact on Europe and Latin America. Can urea make up the difference?

Some 1,160 delegates from 475 companies and 76 countries gathered in Vienna, Austria, for the 89th International Fertilizer Association (IFA) Annual Conference, 30 May – 1 June 2022. We report on the main highlights of this three-day flagship event.

Applying dissolved fertilizers via micro-irrigation systems or leaf sprayers offers commercial fruit and vegetable growers clear-cut gains – in terms of input costs, nutrient use efficiency, labour, time and energy.

Some 410 delegates from 208 companies and 45 countries participated virtually in the IFA Global Sustainability Conference, 28-31 March 2022. We report on the main highlights of this four-day event.

Sulphur is becoming an increasingly vital crop nutrient, due to a combination of lower sulphur deposition from the atmosphere, the increasing prevalence of high-analysis fertilizers and higher cropping intensity.

The war in Ukraine has caused 9,000 civilian deaths and created 5.7 million refugees. If this immense and spiralling human tragedy was not enough, the unprecedented shock inflicted on commodity markets continues to unfold.

The recently-published IEA Ammonia Technology Roadmap sets out a future pathway for decarbonising the nitrogen industry. New technology options for low-carbon ammonia production are emerging and project activity is on the rise.

On February 27th, in a speech to the Bundestag, Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz described the events then unfolding as a “zeitenwende” – a historical turning point. He was speaking of German foreign and security policy, but it seems likely that Russia’s February 24th invasion of Ukraine may end up marking a break with the past in many different ways. Last issue’s Editorial was written when Russia’s ‘special military operation’ was still only a few days old, and the situation was still very fluid. Two months on, and for all of the uncertainties remaining, some glimpses of the way that things are changing are becoming clearer.