Alexandria, Va.-A new fertilizer technique called urea deep placement that is supposed to disseminate fertilizer at half the cost in areas where severe food shortages have occurred is being used throughout Bangladesh and several other countries. Researchers say the new technology may help solve one of the reasons for food shortages – the high cost of fertilizer. With urea deep placement, nitrogen is compacted in briquettes that are placed several inches below the soil surface to release the nitrogen more gradually and effectively. The nitrogen also stays in the soil longer and doesn’t get washed away by the rain. According to Dr. Amit Roy, president of the International Fertilizer Development Center, farmers are using 40 percent less urea, and yet they’re producing nearly 20 percent more rice. To date, Bangladeshi farmers have buried the briquettes under 1.7 million acres of farmland. Roy says this amount may grow to 12 million acres in the coming years. Delegations from Africa and Laos have also come to observe several applications of urea in Bangladesh. Work is currently underway to adapt this technology to larger-scale farming operations as well.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain