Study: Golden bullet or bad bet? New dependencies on synthetic fertilisers and their impacts on the African continent

An aggravation of the global food crisis seems inevitable at the moment. In large parts of the world rising food prices put low income households under pressure while many people in the global South are facing hunger. As already in 2007/08, synthetic fertilisers play a key role in this food crisis, since they are a central part of a crisis-prone food system which is highly dependent on fossil fuels like gas and crude oil.

The study published by INKOTA in cooperation with Dr. Gideon Tups (Univerity of Cologne, Germany) investigates the consequences of the increasing use of synthetic fertilisers on the African continent especially for small-scale farmers. It also sheds light on the role of synthetic fertilisers with regard to rising crude oil and gas prices on the one hand and rising food prices on the other.

Supported by Bread for the World with funds from the Church Development Service, the State Office for Development Cooperation Berlin, MISEREOR and Engagement Global on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The English translation was funded by Bread for the World. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of INKOTA-netzwerk e.V. The positions presented here do not reflect the position of the funding agencies