Moscow – PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, announces that its CEO Andrey Guryev today begins his duties as President of the Russian Association of Fertiliser Producers (RAFP), and has been re-elected as Vice President Eastern Europe & Central Asia of the International Fertiliser Association (IFA).
The re-appointment was announced at the closing press conference of the 84th IFA Annual Conference, which took place in Moscow for the first time and was attended by IFA Director General Charlotte Hebebrand and Andrey Guryev.
“The RAFP’s mission is to drive forward Russia’s mineral fertiliser industry, and support the growth of domestic demand and increased competitiveness of Russian fertilisers at the global level. The RAFP supports the development of the whole of Russian agriculture, which is a priority market for its products,” Andrey Guryev said. “I see my chief task as President of the RAFP as creating new opportunities to modernise and streamline the sector amid today’s prevailing economic conditions. I firmly believe that the chemicals industry is able to become one of the Russian economy’s most technologically advanced sectors and a key guarantor of food security for Russia and the whole world.”
“The RAFP and the IFA share a number of goals, including promoting innovative agricultural technologies and helping farmers become more sophisticated in how they use fertilisers,” Andrey Guryev said at the press conference. “In my position as IFA Vice President I will focus on sustainable growth of crop yields and reduction of environmental impact through the use of high-quality, ecologically friendly fertilisers and scientific methods of application.”
The opening of the conference, being held in Russia for the first time, was attended by Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, whose welcome address noted the need to fully realise Russia’s potential agricultural production capabilities to support national food security and economic growth. Other participants included Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Sergey Tsyb and Vice-President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Viktor Cherepov. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich is expected to attend the closing ceremonies of the conference.
The IFA brings together 525 companies from 85 countries. IFA member companies represent all activities related to the production and distribution of every type of fertilizer, their raw materials and intermediates, and include all major Russian and global fertiliser producers such as Yara, OCP, Mosaic, PotashCorp, IFFCO, Vale and Sinochem.
The IFA has consultative status at the UN, and works closely with international organisations including the OECD, IEA, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the International Plant Nutrition Institute.
The IFA promotes effective and rational production and application of plant fertilisers to support and increase agricultural productivity around the world.
“Fertilizers play a crucial role in sustainable agricultural intensification, designed to deliver the food for a global population that is expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050,” said IFA Director General Charlotte Hebebrand. “The industry is fully aware about the opportunities and responsibilities it faces to help advance global food security, forest and soil preservation, and the safeguarding of air and water quality,”
The sector is responding to this challenge with an ever increasing range of enhanced efficiency fertilizer products, as well as regionally adapted nutrient stewardship programs, based on the “4 Rs” (applying the right source of plant nutrients, at the right rate, time and place). The advancement of soil and crop-specific knowledge through the use of new analysis technologies, application decision support tools and innovative precision agricultural practices are one of the many areas the industry focuses on to promote global food security and sustainable agriculture, key elements of the Sustainable Development Goals.