Managing the Sustainable Ecosystems Across the Globe: An Analysis of the United States of America’s Initiative Towards the Production of Climate Smart Fertilizer as a Solution to World Food Insecurity

Abstract

The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic occurrence in various aspects of society is undeniable. One aspect of this is the increasing number of food-insecure nations globally (FAO, 2022), these incidents have had a damaging impact on a key sustainable development goal (SDG) of the United Nations (UN) on reducing global hunger by the year 2030 (FAO, 2021). It is estimated that 1 in 3 people do not have access to affordable and nutritious food, whereas energy prices, fertilizer prices, and food prices continue to increase causing significant distress to mostly affect poorer countries of the world (World Bank Group, 2022). This dire situation calls for concern and urgent attention for resolution because the United States (US) as a major player in the global agricultural trade has a moral duty to support optimized agricultural yield and quality that strengthen global food security (The White House, 2022). The ability to produce climate-smart fertilizers that boost productivity with minimal or no environmental damage will likely position the United States as a leader in managing sustainable ecosystems, thereby achieving the thirteenth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) - Climate Action. Consequently, building the ability to (1) "promote improved access to climate-smart and sustainable fertilizers" and (2) "enable/increase global food security" is essential (UN,2015; White House, 2022). We believe that the United States, with its advanced proprietary technologies, global supply chain systems, and market networks, is capable of resolving the growing issues of food protectionism that impede the export of agricultural produce to meet domestic demand (Espitia et al., 2020) and successfully repositioning as a leading producer and exporter of climate-smart and sustainable fertilizers (Goedde et al., 2020; Pingali, 2012) while increasing her income. Allocating part of the $19.5 billion conservation funds to drive climate-smart agriculture through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will go a long way to develop the production of climate-smart and sustainable fertilizers that helps to reduce global food insecurity (USDA, 2022).  This paper presents analytical insights on how the US can take on the challenge of producing and exporting sustainable and climate-smart fertilizers to help decrease global food insecurity while keeping the environment safe and maintaining its position as a key contributor to ensuring global food security.

Keywords: Climate Smart Agriculture, Climate-Smart Fertilizers, Sustainable Agriculture, Food security.

DOI: 10.7176/JESD/14-2-03

Publication date: January 31^st 2023