SCIENCE & INNOVATION FORUM Ministerial Session: Innovations in Soil and Plant Nutrient Management Statement
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
20/10/2022
SCIENCE & INNOVATION FORUM
Ministerial Session:
Innovations in Soil and Plant Nutrient Management
Statement
By
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
20 October 2022
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. I especially welcome the Ministers from Ethiopia, Chad and Zimbabwe, and my friend the former Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Philippines,
2. And all other participants here in person, and virtually.
3. I respect the people, leaders, scientists and colleagues who walk the talk!
4. Everyone knows how important soil and nutrition are.
5. First, soil it is not only a short-term issue – it is a long-term matter.
6. It could take our whole life, and still we could not see the real, direct results of our efforts, but we need to do it for the generations to come – it is a long-term commitment.
7. Based on my experience, if you take care of the black soil, for instance, it will take 40 years to see a 1cm increase of top soil.
8. Second, we need to base our efforts on science and technology, like, for example, how to increase soil organic matter.
9. We need to do more in a pragmatic and a systematic way, to design how to for example reverse soil erosion, soil degeneration and soil salinity, among others.
10. Thirdly, how we can do this together?
11. We have the technology, and we have the individual, single solutions. Now we need to integrate all these individual solutions together, under the leadership of the Ministers for Agriculture
12. This is why I have started pushing the Ministers: if four Ministers design a plan, in a holistic manner, in different climate zones, based on different crops, FAO is willing to start a pilot project with four of you.
13. The FAO Chief Economist and Chief Scientist can start working together with these four pilot countries to come up with a packages of solutions to work together at local, regional, national and international level.
14. In the Philippines, for example, there are many islands, different among themselves and with different soils – so we need a package of solutions.
15. Fourth, we need investment.
16. We need long-term investment for:
17. First, soil mapping, by country and by crop - this will lead to a reduction of 20% in the application of fertilizer.
18. In most African countries, the average application of fertilizer is not high.
19. In the Philippines, fertilizer application depends a lot on the variety of crops.
20. For soil mapping, we need international support, but you also need the support of your local government because you need to be very pragmatic.
21. You should start with 4 or 5 major crops, and in a short time you will see improved efficiency, improved environment leeching or erosion of chemical fertilizer overuse
22. Sometimes, not due to overuse, but due to rain or flooding all the nitrogen and phosphorus is leeched through the rivers, often also affecting neighboring countries.
23. Second, we need long-term investment for long-term monitoring, with a scientific taskforce responsible for monitoring and inspection for long periods of time, up to 100 years.
24. In some developed countries, like in the United Kingdom for example, there are soil stations which have been there for about 200 years, accumulating data and building capacity.
25. Third, you need to harmonize agronomic practices with other measures such as tillage or conversion of agriculture, and others, leading to changes in the soil and in productivity
26. Lastly, governments need to work with the private sector, to produce specific fertilizers to fit the different purposes, different crops, different grass, and different animal feed products – that is critical.
27. At FAO, we do not have the crops in the offices, but we have the networks to share with you, and to help you share knowledge and experiences.
28. Thank you.