The Nutrient Challenge
Nitrogen and phosphorus are two key nutrients. Together they play an important role in the global and local sustainable development agendas. The use of these nutrients is key to growing crops and thus to the world’s food security. However, in some parts of the world farmers do not have access to enough nutrients to grow crops and feed growing populations. But in many other parts of the world there is an ‘excess’ of nutrients in the environment as a result of industrial and agricultural activity and has profound impacts, from pollution of water supplies to the undermining of important ecosystems and the services and livelihoods they support.