Food and Fuel Needs

The heightened need to maximize the crop output from the world's shrinking agricultural lands is being driven by a convergence of economic and environmental imperatives:

• China and other emerging economies with rising populations are anxious to produce more and better-quality food - especially meat.
   
• Farmers are continually being pressured to harvest more food from less land per person. In addition, the shift from staples to cereals requires higher fertilizer application rates.
   
• The popular practice of crop rotation, as an alternative to soil enrichment, is a leading cause of massive deforestation in emerging economies.
   
• Global demand for crop-based biofuels is growing exponentially due to environmental and political pressures, as well as high energy prices.
   
• These conditions raise the demand for fertilizers. Potash, the nutrient with the greatest impact on food quality and quantity will be an essential element of this growth.