"With the global population predicted to increase to at least 9 billion by 2050, agriculture needs to sustainably intensify food production by increasing efficiency of water and nutrient resource use to nourish the increasing world population. This challenge needs to be met while agriculture is faced with increasingly severe shortages of good-quality water to be used for irrigation as well as increased frequency and severity of droughts in the rain-fed food-producing areas due to climate change and variability. On the other ...
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"With the global population predicted to increase to at least 9 billion by 2050, agriculture needs to sustainably intensify food production by increasing efficiency of water and nutrient resource use to nourish the increasing world population. This challenge needs to be met while agriculture is faced with increasingly severe shortages of good-quality water to be used for irrigation as well as increased frequency and severity of droughts in the rain-fed food-producing areas due to climate change and variability. On the other side, raw materials used in producing some fertilizers (eg. P and K) are becoming scarce and expensive, and the price of energy is also high (production of N fertilizers is particularly energy demanding), pushing fertilizer prices up. As a result, agriculture must produce more food, feed and fibre with lower water and nutrient inputs, with roots being a crucial component of this increased water- and nutrient-use efficiency to underpin sustainable intensification"--
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