Happy Global Fertilizer Day!

Recognizing the role fertilizer will have in feeding a growing population

The world’s population is growing . . . and fertilizer is expected to play a vital role in ensuring there will be enough food on the table for all of us moving forward. 

Estimates peg our planet to hit the 9.7-billion population mark by 2050Over these next three decades, the United Nations say we will need to increase food production by as much as 70 per cent to keep us all fed. One of the main ways to do this is by applying fertilizer in a sustainable way. 

GFD Logo green without grass Resized BIn recognition of the role that fertilizer will continue to have in sustaining the world around us, Solex Thermal Science is excited to join others from around the world to celebrate Global Fertilizer Day on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. The international awareness campaign was initiated by Fertilizers Europe, and has since gained the support of fertilizer associations and companies from around the world with the common goal of bringing awareness to the important role fertilizer brings as the backbone of the agricultural industry and to feeding the world. 

As a company, Solex owes much of our continued success to the fertilizer industry. In fact, did you know we were “born” out of the Western Canadian fertilizer industry more than 30 years ago? Before we were Solex Thermal Science, we started as a division of Cominco Engineering Services (CESL) in 1989 with our first unit a fertilizer cooler in Carseland, Alberta, Canada. We later incorporated as Bulkflow Technologies and Solex in 1999.  

Today, we have more than 800 installations in more than 50 countries and almost every continent. That includes more than 175 fertilizer projects worldwide – and counting(Interesting Solex fact #2: That first installation in Carseland is still operational, more than 30 years later!) 

In honour of Global Fertilizer Day, here are some additional numbers about fertilizer: 

50  Mineral fertilizers are credited with feeding 50% of the global population. 

98  Most of the nitrogen in soil (98%) is unavailable to plants. This makes the use of nitrogen fertilizers a necessity. 

2 – More than two billion people suffer from micronutrient malnutrition, sometimes referred to as “hidden hunger.” Mineral fertilizers provide essential macro- and micronutrients to plants, which in turn are passed on to people when consumed. 

6 – Effective and efficient fertilization is a vital part of the climate smart agricultural practices that could reduce global emissions by upward of six billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year – around the same as removing 1,500 coal-fired power plants. 

4 – The world loses four hectares of farmland per minute, meaning less farmland is available to feed more people. 

208 – Global mineral fertilizer demand is expected to increase to 208 MT by 2025/56 – an increase of more than 10% since 2008/09. 

17 – Plants require 17 essential elements for growth: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, boron, chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel and zinc. 

1 – The fertilizer industry directly employs more than one million people worldwide, and 3.1 million total jobs when including indirect such as logistics, wholesale and retail. 


This entry was last updated on 2021-10-10


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