Rome, Italy – PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically-integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, acted as one of the partners of the Global Symposium of Soil Pollution, which was held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (the “FAO”) in Rome, Italy in early May 2018.
Together with PhosAgro, financial support for the FAO’s Global Symposium on Soil Pollution was provided by the Russian Federation, the European Commission, the Swiss Confederation and the International Fertilizer Association.
PhosAgro CEO, IFA Vice President for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and President of the Russian Fertilizer Producers’ Association Andrey Guryev participated in the Symposium, together with leading scientists, policy-makers, private sector and civil society representatives as well as other stakeholders, was be the first step in implementing the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management and sought to establish an agenda for action to preserve the world’s soils, including agricultural soils that may become polluted by fertilizers that contain potentially-harmful heavy metals like cadmium.
According to the FAO, soil pollution, including from heavy metals like cadmium, nickel and arsenic, affects food security by decreasing crop output and quality.
PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: “Thanks to the joint activities launched through the Global Symposium on Soil Pollution would hopefully provide a structure that gives soil stakeholders throughout the value chain the right incentives to contribute to protecting soils, bringing sustainable benefits in terms of human health, agricultural production and rational use of resources by major fertilizer producers like PhosAgro. As a producer of high-quality mineral fertilizers that are naturally low in pollutants like cadmium, Phosagro is particularly committed to engaging in a constructive way around FAO’s work on preventing and mitigating soil pollution, awareness raising and improved fertilizer management.
“We believe that the fertilizer industry can and must play a role in sustainable and safe agricultural production by making it easier for farmers, especially those engaged in intensive farming practices, to efficiently grow crops without contributing to the accumulation of pollutants in soils.”
PhosAgro Deputy CEO Siroj Loikov spoke at the forum, noting that “PhosAgro and the fertilizer industry play a key role in delivering plant nutrients for agricultural soils that grow the food we all eat. When produced and used properly, these fertilizers help farmers to grow safe and healthy food in a sustainable way, and to meet growing demand as the global population increases. Together, we must continuously engage in developing new technologies and production techniques, and conduct research that will improve the industry’s production processes and products.”