Publication - ‘Global food security threatened by potassium neglect’
A perspective in Nature Food (published in Feb 2024) highlighted food security and healthy ecosystems are placed in jeopardy by poor potassium management. Six actions may prevent declines in crop yield due to soil potassium deficiency, safeguard farmers from potash price volatility and address environmental concerns associated with potash mining.
Overview: Inadequate potassium management jeopardizes food security and freshwater ecosystem health. Potassium, alongside nitrogen and phosphorus, is a vital nutrient for plant growth and will be fundamental to achieving the rapid rises in crop yield necessary to sustain a growing population. Sustainable nutrient management is pivotal to establishing sustainable food systems and achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. While momentum to deliver nitrogen and phosphorus sustainability3 builds, potassium sustainability has been chronically neglected. There are no national or international policies or regulations on sustainable potassium use equivalent to those for nitrogen and phosphorus. Calls to mitigate rising potassium soil deficiency by increasing potassium inputs in arable agriculture are understandable. However, substantial knowledge gaps persist regarding the potential environmental impacts of such interventions.
The paper outlines six proposed actions that aim to prevent crop yield declines due to soil potassium deficiency, safeguard farmers from price volatility in potash (that is, mined potassium salts used to make fertilizer) and address environmental and ecosystem concerns associated with potash mining and increased potassium fertilizer use.
