IFA’s Annual Conference in Montreal: The Global Fertilizer Industry Continues to Evolve and Connect
Montreal, Canada -- More than 1250 representatives from 67 countries met in Montreal to advance the industry’s commitments to industry stewardship, partnerships and innovation at IFA’s Annual Conference, IFA2019, the most important global plant nutrition event.
The tone was set by two outstanding keynote speakers. Jim Collins, CEO of newly launched Corteva, which brings together the agricultural segments of Dow and Dupont, explored fast changing agricultural and food systems and the need for the inputs industry to be ever more attuned to farmers’ needs not only in terms of productivity enhancement, but also in enabling them to be excellent stewards of their land.
Marco Ferroni, the Chair of the System Management Board of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the respected and renowned public global agricultural research network, payed tribute to the tremendous contribution of fertilizers to food security and welcomed an enhanced partnership with the global fertilizer industry to further close still existing yield gaps and promote efficient fertilizer use.
Embracing Stewardship
To reaffirm the overarching goal of helping farmers to improve nutrient use efficiency and effectiveness to optimize plant nutrient uptake and minimize nutrient losses to the environment, IFA members embraced a series of industry nutrient stewardship commitments, including supporting greater outreach to farmers and innovation in the field of plant nutrition solutions and engaging in dialogue and partnerships with stakeholders.
Furthermore, IFA’s Board of Directors agreed to establish an independent expert panel on sustainable plant nutrition, which will provide valuable scientific input and guidance to the association and its members, with a first convening planned for November 2019.
“Both the commitments and the move to establish an expert panel are further proof of the global fertilizer industry’s commitment to nutrient stewardship aimed at enhancing crop uptake of nutrients to maximize crop yields and to minimize nutrient losses to the environment,” observed Charlotte Hebebrand, Director General of IFA.
On the production site, the association highlighted its new Industry Stewardship Champions program, which recognizes IFA members who participate in IFA’s Employee Safety Performance, Environmental Performance, and Energy Efficiency & CO2 Emissions (for ammonia producers only) benchmarks and are certified under Protect & Sustain, the global fertilizer industry’s product stewardship certification program.
Showcasing Plant Nutrition Innovations
To help foster strategic connections between the fertilizer industry and the AgTech sector, this year’s conference featured IFA’s first ever Plant Nutrition Startup Showcase. 8 finalists, selected from nearly 50 applicants, presented their plant nutrition related innovations at a dedicated startup corner and special pitch session.
Following on from a roundtable discussion which introduced members to the broader AgTech landscape and the emerging focus on plant nutrition solutions, a jury of 5 IFA members chose 3Bar Biologics as the winner of the $20,000 Grand Prize. IFA would like to congratulate them and thank all the finalists for their participation.
“The level of interaction between these small and innovative start-ups and executives of large established fertilizer companies was extremely fruitful and should be further pursued,” said Samir A. Al-Abdrabbuh, Executive Vice President of Agri-Nutrients at SABIC, IFA2019’s Innovation Partner.
Increasing Female Industry Inclusivity
A further innovative feature of IFA2019 was a special session exploring how the traditionally predominantly male fertilizer industry can encourage greater gender diversity, showcasing the diversity programs of some IFA members.
The session also provided an opportunity to hear women in leadership positions within the industry offering invaluable lessons learned along their own professional paths, as well as from young women who are charting their careers in the fertilizer sector.
New IFA Chairman Elected
After two years of exemplary leadership and dedicated service, IFFCO Joint MD Rakesh Kapur handed the reins to Dr. Mostafa Terrab, Chairman and CEO of the OCP Group, who was elected as the new (and first African) IFA Chairman). Nutrien CEO and President Chuck Magro was elected as the Vice Chairman.
“Rakesh has done a terrific job of shepherding us through the IFA2030 strategic review, my goal as IFA’s new chairman is to support the industry in continuing its journey towards strong product and nutrient stewardship,” said Dr. Terrab who is also keen to make plant nutrition more attractive to youth and women.
Thank you to the IFA2019 Sponsors!
IFA is grateful for the support provided by host sponsor Nutrien, innovation partner SABIC, platinum sponsors Kingentan and OCP, gold sponsor QAFCO, silver sponsor GPIC, and bronze sponsor Muntajat.
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