Future Needs for Best Practices in Fertiliser Manufacturing and Agriculture

Keywords: Fertiliser manufacturing, Best practice, Environmental impact, Safety, Agriculture.

THE FUTURE NEEDS FOR BEST PRACTICE IN FERTILISER MANUFACTURING.

The best practice of fertiliser manufacturing can be understood in a broad way. Some essential aspects of this concept are discussed in this paper related to fertilisers. The intention is not to give an exact and up to date picture of the situation in Western Europe. The paper tries rather to cover more generally, topics which, in the future, will most probably influence our industry and which best practices will be implemented in fertiliser manufacturing.

Introduction.

During recent years there has been increasing discussion in Western Europe about sustainable development and how this status can be achieved.

The European Union (EU) has launched several directives and proposals in support of sustainable development. Last year a proposal was worked out for integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC). After its approval, this proposal will form the framework for best practice in emission control in the industries of Western Europe.

The status of legislation has been thoroughly described in a paper presented to the Fertiliser Society in April 1994. No details of legislation will therefore be touched on in this paper. The concept of ‘Best Available Techniques’ (BAT) was also described at the same meeting, based on work carried out within the European Fertilizer Manufacturers Association (EFMA). The recent status of these efforts is covered elsewhere in this Conference, both in presentations and in the Workshops. This paper will not therefore, go into details of BAT either.

The title of this paper includes the word ‘future’. This allows me the freedom to take a more global and more future-based approach. It is perhaps not a bad idea for us who work in the shrinking fertiliser industry in Western Europe, to take a little of an outsider’s view and review the trends about us without pressure and prejudice to create a more global overview.

R Perander, Kemira Agro Oy. Helsinki, Finland.

14 refs.

THE FUTURE NEED FOR BEST PRACTICES IN AGRICULTURE.

Introduction.

It seems to be widely accepted throughout the agricultural industry that there is a real need to identify or to develop ‘best practices’. However, identifying the need is simple, determining what is required to meet it and consequently taking the necessary actions will be very much more difficult.

If we look back over the last two or three decades we can see that what was best practice at any one time has often, with hindsight, been proven to be severely damaging to the environment or to have had a negative influence on the farming business. This has usually occurred through a lack of understanding of the full implications and the longer term effects of the activities that were taking place.

Has our state of knowledge improved to such a level that we will be able to predict the effects of what future best practice will be or will history repeat itself?

This paper will be heavily weighted to the use of fertiliser within the context of the title but I will refer to other activities as many of the existing pressures and future needs are clearly aligned. The comments made are not scientifically based but should be seen as the observations of a farmer operating in what can be a rather confusing environment.

M W Calvert, CWS Agriculture, Stoughton, Leicester, UK.

23 pages.