FerTechInform: addressing the knowledge gap

Editorial

FerTechInform: addressing the knowledge gap

The International Fertiliser Society (IFS) has launched FerTechInform, a comprehensive online technical resource for fertilizer production. The new digital resource combines an information knowledge base with an interactive forum for users. IFS Secretary Steve Hallam explains how it works, who it is for, and why it came into being.

Steve Hallam

PHOTO: IFS

The International Fertiliser Society (IFS) recently launched a new, free-to-use online information resource. This unique ‘one stop shop’ covers many of the technical aspects of fertilizer production.

To make it as relevant as possible to the global fertilizer industry, the resource – known as FerTechInform – was developed by the IFS in consultation with leading fertilizer industry organisations.

A recognised problem

FerTechInform was developed to meet a widely acknowledged need and knowledge gap – one that has long been recognised by the Society’s membership and the wider industry.

While there is certainly no lack of technical information available on fertilizer production processes, swiftly collating and verifying this can be highly problematic. Relevant information is often time consuming to locate, out of date, fragmented/incomplete and of questionable accuracy. Accessing this information can also involve a charge.

In our view, engineers and managers who are new to the industry would like to receive an elementary grounding in fertilizer production technology and processes. Equally, experienced staff who change roles are also eager to familiarise themselves with new production processes, product types and technologies.

However, there are two barriers preventing this currently: firstly, there is a general lack of formal fertilizer industry training courses; and, secondly, due to demographic shifts within the industry, there is a rapid fall-off in the number of experienced engineers able to pass on their valuable knowledge to new engineers through on-the-job training.

FerTechInform – the answer?

If that is the problem, then what is the answer? Well, any useful information resource has to fulfil a range of requirements. As a solution, FerTechInform is designed to be:

• A foundation-level resource
• Accessible, reliable and available online all in one place
• Comprehensive, covering all major fertilizer production processes
• Up to date and easy to maintain
• Independent and commercially unbiased
• Available at low or no cost
• Credible and contain relevant and accurate information
• Able to grow and evolve over time
• Provide different levels/layers of detail.

The IFS realised that it was exceptionally well-placed to develop and curate such a resource. We are a not-for-profit, member-led organisation. Our remit is to act as a forum for the dissemination and discussion of technical information about fertilizers and crop nutrition. That is actually our raison d’être.

This is combined with a reputation for publishing authoritative and reliable information. During its 75 years of existence, the Society has built up an archive of more than 870 technical papers. We also maintain a strong network of relationships with leading industry organisations and companies.

This network proved invaluable in developing FerTechInform and incorporating reputable technical sources, including an agreement with the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) to include its renowned Fertilizer Manual. Other content was provided by the European Fertilizer Blenders Association (EFBA), Fertilizers Europe, the European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP) and others.

IFS plans to develop and expand the resource in phases over time. FerTechInform is currently structured into four main parts:

• Types of fertilizer or material, such as NPK fertilizers or phosphoric acid
• Types of processes or processing, such as granulation or blending
• Enabling or support topics, such as materials analysis or life cycle analysis
• Terminology.

This first phase covers 21 topics/subject areas and comprises 72 separate webpages. During this initial phase, IFS will monitor and evaluate the level of usage, before committing additional resources. Accordingly, to encourage take up, this first phase of FerTechInform is free for all users, including membership of the discussion forum.

Get involved!

IFS will decide on the future direction and rate of development of the resource in 2023, after assessing and analysing feedback from users. If all goes well, FerTechInform will ultimately be around four times larger than phase one when complete – covering more than 40 subject areas.

The existing content should greatly interest and be highly relevant to Fertilizer International readers. The IFS would therefore encourage you to visit FerTechInform, get involved and judge for yourself how well it meets your needs. We’d very much welcome your feedback!