Agricultural Inputs
Featured blog
Feeding Africa: How Fertilizer Trade Contributes to Food Security
In this book chapter from the 2025 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor Report, authors explore a critical yet often overlooked pillar of food security: the trade and accessibility of agricultural inputs. For those tracking the continent's path toward self-sufficiency, the study explores how fertilizers contribute to the future of African farming.The Fertilizer ParadoxFertilizers are crucial for delivering essential nutrients to crops, significantly boosting productivity and enhancing food security.
Private sector participation is important for agricultural development - but not on its own
As policymakers and development practitioners aim to boost adoption of new technologies to promote sustainable agricultural development, they are increasingly turning to private sector companies for help. These companies can often provide marketing and financial incentives that the public sector cannot, making them an important potential pathway to reach farmers and increase their use of new technologies.
Tracking Fertilizer Price Volatility: Expanding the Food Security Portal’s Excessive Food Price Variability Early Warning System
Fertilizer is a critical input for agricultural productivity, and its increased use has been closely associated with rising agricultural yields in many countries. In developing economies that rely heavily on fertilizer imports and are home to vulnerable smallholder farmers, fertilizer price spikes can pose serious risks. When farmers lack access to effective risk-sharing mechanisms, sudden or excessive increases in fertilizer prices can discourage adoption, disrupt planting decisions, and reduce productivity.
Food Crisis in Sudan: New Report Provides Policy Recommendations for Recovery
Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, Sudan has seen deteriorating food security and economic activity, disrupted markets and agrifood systems, and a steadily building humanitarian crisis. According to a new policy note from IFPRI’s Sudan Strategy Support Program, if steps are not taken to protect livelihoods and food security, 4 million people could fall into poverty and an additional 2 million could face food insecurity and malnourishment by 2028.
Who’s afraid of high fertilizer prices?
During 2021 and 2022, global food and fertilizer prices spiked due to several overlapping factors. Demand rose as the world economy emerged from the COVID-19 recession; global supply chains suffered major disruptions associated with the uneven recovery; and the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine—both key food and fertilizer producers—generated yet another shock.