Fertilizer use is on the rise in Argentina, which is a major contributor to increasing yields in that country. We found out more about that during the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress in Argentina.

We visited Profertil, a joint venture with Canada’s Agrium and the nation’s largest fertilizer producer. “The use of fertilizer technology has improved a lot,” said Profertil commercial manager Pablo Pussetto. “More or less, 80% of all the urea consumed in Argentina is supplied by Profertil,” he said.

Argentine crop yields have doubled in the past two decades as fertilizer use has increased 10 fold with farmer education. “We cannot continue mining our soil to make our agricultural practice,” said Pussetto. “We need to replenish the nutrients in every system.”

The approach to farmers in Argentina is similar to the 4R message in the United States – the right source, the right rate, the right time, and the right place. “The concept is not to use a lot of fertilizer but to use the correct fertilizer, the correct amount of fertilizer in order to maximize not only economic value or yield but at the same time make your crop more sustainable,” Pussetto said.

Argentina supplies much of its own nitrogen and urea fertilizers, but needs to import phosphate from other countries, including the United States, as most of the soils in the major producing area are phosphate deficient. Interview with Profertil's Pablo Pussetto 2013 IFAJ Congress Photo Album