New Conference resumes debate to implement the National Fertilizer Plan

It was published last Friday (5/5), in the Official Gazette of the Union, a decree by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that restructures the National Council of Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition (Confert), a collegiate whose main task is to review, debate and implement the National Fertilizer Plan (PNF). The objective is to reduce external dependence in this area — imports account for 85% of products used in Brazil — incorporating the environmental dimension into national production.

The Conference will be chaired by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC) and will also include the ministries of Agriculture and Livestock; Science, Technology and Innovation; Agrarian Development and Family Farming; Farm; Environment and Climate Change; Mines and Energy; in addition to Embrapa, Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil; National Confederation of Industry; and Petrobras.

“External dependence in this area costs us US$25 billion annually -- money that leaves the country to generate foreign exchange and jobs abroad. We will reverse this situation with investment in research and technology, always with great respect for environmental and social issues”, stated the vice-president and minister of the MDIC, Geraldo Alckmin.

The PNF's meta-synthesis is that this dependence should be reduced to between 50% and 55% by 2050.

Among the problems of external dependence are the risk of shortages, in cases of crises involving countries of origin, and the technological inadequacy of inputs to the Brazilian soil and climate. This inadequacy causes a large part of the applied nutrients to be lost due to rain and other factors typical of the tropical climate. Such loss can worsen environmental problems arising from the misuse of these inputs.

The decree provides that the PNF will undergo periodic reviews every four years, at most, until 2050.

The PNF

The strong Brazilian agricultural expansion in recent decades was not accompanied by an increase in national fertilizer production. On the contrary: in the last 20 years, while the consumption of agricultural nutrients jumped from 20 million to 41 million tons annually, local production fell from 7,4 million to 6,4 million.

These and other indicators are present in a document concluded last year by an interministerial working group and which will now serve as the basis for discussions around the new National Fertilizer Plan.

This is a long-term plan -- with the year 2050 on the horizon, when the consumption of fertilizers by Brazilian agriculture could double in relation to the current situation. The projection takes into account the expansion of planting around the world and is associated with food security for the global population, which should reach close to 10 billion inhabitants in 30 years.

To revitalize and restructure the national production chain, generating employment, income, revenue and regional development, the PNF brings a broad set of guidelines, goals and actions.

One of them foresees technological investment to improve the use of inputs on Brazilian soil, raising the level of geological knowledge in the country. Also on the horizon of the PNF are the improvement of the business environment (regulation, taxation, bureaucracy) and the consolidation of an efficient distribution and storage system, among other actions.

One of the central concerns of the plan is to incorporate the environmental dimension into national production, encouraging the adoption of sustainable practices and the use of new materials and inputs of biological and agromineral origin -- which can reduce the demand for NPK formula compounds (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium).

The NPK formula

Soil fertilization is essential to increase the productivity of established crops, which, in turn, reduces the need to expand the agricultural frontier. On the other hand, incorrect management can cause environmental damage associated with the emission of greenhouse gases and the contamination of rivers and lakes.

Most chemical fertilizers are compounds produced from Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, known by the acronym NPK. Phosphorus and Potassium are found in rocks and minerals, while Nitrogen is produced from an energy source, the most common being natural gas. The combination of these elements gives rise to essential nutrients for the good development of the plant.

The largest producers and exporters of the NPK formula are Russia, China, the United States, Canada, Morocco and Belarus. Brazil, due to the size of its agriculture, is among the largest consumers.

Brazil has large reserves of raw materials necessary for the production of fertilizers, such as natural gas, phosphate rocks, potassium and micronutrients, but knowledge and exploration of these reserves require extensive studies, including in relation to environmental and social impacts.