{"id":14372,"date":"2017-11-21T06:03:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-21T06:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alj.com\/en\/?post_type=perspective&p=14372"},"modified":"2022-03-21T09:58:10","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T09:58:10","slug":"j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa","status":"publish","type":"perspective","link":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"J-WAFS in action: Rocks for Crops – Delivering affordable potassium fertilizer across Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Antoine Allanore, Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, is leading one of seven research projects recently awarded J-WAFS funding.\u00a0 Antoine aims to develop a new kind of potassium fertilizer derived from K feldspar, a widely available mineral that can be produced locally, rather than relying on expensive supplies of imported potassium chloride.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Opening Doors spoke to Professor Allanore about the project and its aims.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>What is the title of your research project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The project is called \u2018Affordable Potassium Fertilizer from K Feldspar for Africa\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What issue are you seeking to address?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The United Nations forecasts a global population of 8.5 billion by 2030 \u2013 increasing 1.2 billion in just 15 years from 2015 \u2013 and hitting 9.7 billion by 2050[1]<\/a>.\u00a0 These growth rates are already startling, but even more so when you consider much of this is expected in the parts of the world already struggling to meet the food and water needs of their current<\/em> population today. \u00a0The UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that, with 33% more mouths to feed by 2050, food production will have to increase by 70%[2]<\/a> \u2013 so we need to look at ways to grow more food, more efficiently.\u00a0 Fertilizer is one way to increase yield, but in countries where there is most need, imported solutions are very expensive.<\/p>\n

Today, Canada, Russia and Belarus account for more than 85% of the world\u2019s production of potassium chloride (KCI), which is the most widely used compound for potassium fertilization in agriculture. \u00a0While supplies are cheap and easily available for countries in the northern hemisphere, transportation logistics ensure KCI is expensive and scarce in the southern hemisphere. \u00a0At the same time, soils in the southern hemisphere and the tropics have a different make-up to soils in the north. \u00a0This means that KCI is not as effective for fertilization in these areas. \u00a0So, we are aiming to develop a new potassium fertilizer derived by hydrothermal processing of potassium feldspar \u2013 a widely available mineral across the globe, including Africa – in the presence of calcium oxide. \u00a0This could be particularly useful to tropical agriculture across North Africa, where 1) potassium chloride transportation costs are prohibitively high, 2) the soils are not so well suited to potassium chloride fertilizer and 3) potassium feldspar (K feldspar) is readily available.<\/p>\n

Why has potassium chloride traditionally been the most widely used compound for potassium fertilization?<\/strong><\/p>\n

By the end of the 19th<\/sup> century, agronomists had discovered a link between soil types and certain elements in the ground. \u00a0But until the discovery of salt mines in Germany, nobody really had access to high-potency potassium chloride. \u00a0Suddenly Germany had easy access to potassium chloride \u2013 you didn\u2019t have to go very deep, it was almost at ground level. \u00a0Then, at the turn of the 20th<\/sup> century, these mines were discovered all over Europe, Russia and North America, so potassium chloride became the main option for soil fertilization.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Feldspars (KAlSi3O8 \u2013 NaAlSi3O8 \u2013 CaAl2Si2O8) are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals that make up about 41% of the Earth’s continental crust by weight. The salmon-pink color is typical of K-spar. Fragments of pure feldspar crystals tend to form rectangular blocks with irregular ends.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Can you briefly describe the benefits of your proposed solution?<\/strong>
\nOur proposal does not rely on the complex and costly supply chain of potassium chloride. \u00a0Instead, we are using K feldspar, which is widely available almost anywhere. \u00a0So rather than importing potassium chloride from Canada, Russia or Germany, we can use local resources and develop the local industry.\u00a0 At the same time, because it is being produced locally, it should be possible to tweak the process to ensure that the end-product is more suitable for local soil conditions.<\/p>\n

This creates a double benefit: you\u2019re helping farmers with a more effective fertilizer, and you\u2019re helping the economy by developing local industry.\u00a0 There\u2019s also a third potential benefit, in that countries in Africa with readily accessible reserves of K feldspar could become producers and exporters of fertilizer, like Russia, Germany or Canada are today. \u00a0So it could open up new opportunities for mining, as well as production.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>What are the key challenges you need to address?<\/strong>
\nWe have to consider the complexity of soil science and agronomy[3]<\/a>. \u00a0We are still at the beginning of understanding how our product will interact with other nutrients in the soil and crops. \u00a0These farming complexities are what we hope to tackle, particularly in understudied regions.<\/p>\n

The first thing we need to do is understand the type of soil in which we are going to use the product.\u00a0 Soils differ greatly around the world due to a range of reasons, from the amount of water they hold through to their different geological origins and, sometimes, previous use of the soil.<\/p>\n

Africa, obviously, is a huge area, with different soils in each region. \u00a0The crop being grown is another factor we must consider. \u00a0Once we know the soil type and the crop, we will be able to tweak and design our material to ensure it is going to be able to perform according to the needs of the farmers.<\/p>\n

This latest round of J-WAFS funding run until August 2019. \u00a0Do you expect your research to be complete by then?<\/strong>
\nRealistically, I think we\u2019ll be able to complete \u2018greenhouse tests\u2019 by then. \u00a0These are small scale tests on plants that replicate the conditions of the soil, of the crop and of the way the farmer grows it.\u00a0 The next stage will be to conduct field tests and soils tests on a slightly larger scale.\u00a0 If the research is successful, we\u2019ll be ready to conduct six-month or one-year field trials, which will allow people to see large-scale performance of the material.\u00a0 After that, we\u2019ll need to work with industry and commercial partners to scale the product and take it to market. \u00a0<\/p>\n

At a high level, this is a perfect chance to test our ability to adapt the fertilizer to new regions, although there will always be need for more research for us to fully understand the impact of our product on different crops and in different soil types.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> http:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/development\/desa\/news\/population\/2015-report.html<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> http:\/\/www.fao.org\/news\/story\/en\/item\/35571\/icode\/<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> the science of soil management and crop production<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":14374,"template":"","tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJ-WAFS Delivers Affordable Fertilizer for Africa | Abdul Latif Jameel\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Supported by J-WAFS, the research for affordable fertilizer seeks to develop locally a new kind of potassium fertilizer in Africa for crops.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"J-WAFS Delivers Affordable Fertilizer for Africa | Abdul Latif Jameel\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Supported by J-WAFS, the research for affordable fertilizer seeks to develop locally a new kind of potassium fertilizer in Africa for crops.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Abdul Latif Jameel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Abdul.Latif.Jameel.Official\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-21T09:58:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Affordable-Potassium-Fertilizer.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1285\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"857\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/\",\"name\":\"J-WAFS Delivers Affordable Fertilizer for Africa | Abdul Latif Jameel\u00ae\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-21T06:03:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-21T09:58:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"Supported by J-WAFS, the research for affordable fertilizer seeks to develop locally a new kind of potassium fertilizer in Africa for crops.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Perspectives\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/ja\/perspective\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"J-WAFS in action: Rocks for Crops – Delivering affordable potassium fertilizer across Africa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Abdul Latif Jameel\",\"description\":\"Abdul Latif Jameel\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"J-WAFS Delivers Affordable Fertilizer for Africa | Abdul Latif Jameel\u00ae","description":"Supported by J-WAFS, the research for affordable fertilizer seeks to develop locally a new kind of potassium fertilizer in Africa for crops.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"J-WAFS Delivers Affordable Fertilizer for Africa | Abdul Latif Jameel\u00ae","og_description":"Supported by J-WAFS, the research for affordable fertilizer seeks to develop locally a new kind of potassium fertilizer in Africa for crops.","og_url":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/","og_site_name":"Abdul Latif Jameel","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Abdul.Latif.Jameel.Official","article_modified_time":"2022-03-21T09:58:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1285,"height":857,"url":"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Affordable-Potassium-Fertilizer.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/","url":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/","name":"J-WAFS Delivers Affordable Fertilizer for Africa | Abdul Latif Jameel\u00ae","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-11-21T06:03:54+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-21T09:58:10+00:00","description":"Supported by J-WAFS, the research for affordable fertilizer seeks to develop locally a new kind of potassium fertilizer in Africa for crops.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Perspectives","item":"https:\/\/alj.com\/ja\/perspective\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"J-WAFS in action: Rocks for Crops – Delivering affordable potassium fertilizer across Africa"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/","name":"Abdul Latif Jameel","description":"Abdul Latif Jameel","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"post-meta-fields":{"_thumbnail_id":["14374"],"perspective_short_title":["Delivering affordable potassium fertilizer across Africa"],"perspective_summury":["<p>Antoine Allanore, Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, is leading one of seven research projects recently awarded J-WAFS funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n"],"wpcf-featured-news":["0"],"is_latest_news":["0"],"wpcf-show-news-at-homepage":["0"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_title":["J-WAFS Delivers Affordable Fertilizer for Africa | Abdul Latif Jameel\u00ae"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Supported by J-WAFS, the research for affordable fertilizer seeks to develop locally a new kind of potassium fertilizer in Africa for crops."],"push_notification":["no"],"_push_notification":["field_5c3b1fb67034d"],"mobile_featured_image":["https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2017\/11\/AffordablePotassiumFertilizer.jpg"],"_mobile_featured_image":["field_5c3b204983dea"],"publish_mobile":[""],"_publish_mobile":["field_5bfa8eb2e65cf"],"_yoast_wpseo_canonical":["https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/j-wafs-action-rocks-crops-delivering-affordable-potassium-fertilizer-across-africa\/"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"perspective_location":["Boston, USA"],"_wpml_word_count":["{\"total\":1154,\"to_translate\":{\"ar\":1154,\"zh-hans\":1154,\"fr\":1154,\"ja\":1154,\"es\":1154,\"tr\":1154}}"],"_wpml_media_featured":["0"],"post_views_count_2019Sep":["47"],"post_views_count_2019Oct":["30"],"post_views_count_2019Nov":["13"],"post_views_count_2019Dec":["28"],"wpcf-perspective-published-date":["1511136000"],"post_views_count_2020Jan":["18"],"post_views_count_2020Feb":["13"],"post_views_count_2020Mar":["26"],"post_views_count_2020Apr":["34"],"post_views_count_2020May":["27"],"post_views_count_2020Jun":["28"],"post_views_count_2020Jul":["22"],"post_views_count_2020Aug":["16"],"post_views_count_2020Sep":["16"],"post_views_count_2020Oct":["21"],"post_views_count_2020Nov":["16"],"post_views_count_2020Dec":["12"],"post_views_count_2021Jan":["17"],"post_views_count_2021Feb":["17"],"post_views_count_2021Mar":["21"],"post_views_count_2021Apr":["14"],"post_views_count_2021May":["10"],"post_views_count_2021Jun":["5"],"post_views_count_2021Jul":["51"],"post_views_total_count":["51"],"_edit_lock":["1773916222:22"],"_edit_last":["19"],"perspective_business_sector":["Community Jameel"],"content_series_applied":[""],"_content_series_applied":["field_60f3d3faf82ac"],"wpcf-perspective-downloadable_file":[""],"wpcf-card-image":[""],"_wpcf-card-image-sort-order":["a:1:{i:0;i:1103686;}"],"wpcf-video-description":[""],"wpcf-layoutvideourl":[""],"wpcf-video-thumb":[""],"wpcf-social4-svg":[""],"wpcf-social4-background-image":[""],"wpcf-social4-text":[""],"wpcf-social4-url":[""],"wpcf-social3-svg":[""],"wpcf-social3-background-image":[""],"wpcf-social3-text":[""],"wpcf-social3-url":[""],"wpcf-social-text-svg-square":[""],"wpcf-social-text-image-square":[""],"wpcf-social-text-text-square":[""],"wpcf-social-text-url-square":[""],"wpcf-social2-svg":[""],"wpcf-social2-background-image":[""],"wpcf-social2-text":[""],"wpcf-social2-url":[""],"wpcf-social-svg-square":[""],"wpcf-social-image-square":[""],"wpcf-social-text-square":[""],"wpcf-social-url-square":[""],"wpcf-social1-svg":[""],"wpcf-social1-background-image":[""],"wpcf-social1-text":[""],"wpcf-social1-url":[""],"wpcf-quotes-with-auther-text-1":[""],"wpcf-card_article_with_title_content":[""],"wpcf-card_article_content":["write your content"],"wpcf-quotes-with-auther-text":[""],"_bsf_post_type":["0"],"_bsf_item_review_type":["none"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":[""],"amazonS3_cache":["a:4:{s:47:\"\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Feldspars.jpg\";a:2:{s:2:\"id\";i:14375;s:11:\"source_type\";s:13:\"media-library\";}s:55:\"\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Feldspars-300x200.jpg\";a:2:{s:2:\"id\";i:14375;s:11:\"source_type\";s:13:\"media-library\";}s:49:\"\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Feldspars.jpg\";a:2:{s:2:\"id\";i:14375;s:11:\"source_type\";s:13:\"media-library\";}s:57:\"\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Feldspars-300x200.jpg\";a:2:{s:2:\"id\";i:14375;s:11:\"source_type\";s:13:\"media-library\";}}"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/perspective\/14372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/perspective"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/perspective"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}