UN Food Systems Summit + 2 Stocktaking Moment Special Event “Fertilizers: Meeting short-term needs while working towards sustainable solutions”

The topic of fertilizers gained very high attention over the last two years. International fertilizer benchmark prices began soaring in 2021 as a result the disruptions caused by COVID-19, and reached record highs in 2022 following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. This has raised concerns about food production and availability in 2023. The lack of application of fertilizers can limit nutrient availability to plants and affect crop yields, and thus food production. The reduced availability of, and access to, fertilizers opened a wide debate on how to mitigate the crisis, while highlighting the need to find longer-term solutions by promoting sustainable production practices, for instance including through the use of soil nutrient maps and organic fertilizers.