Understanding the Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare Indicator
The Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare of Cropland is a primary agri-environmental metric used to track the intensity of inorganic fertilizer use in global agriculture. It serves as a dual-purpose tool: measuring a country's agricultural productivity potential while acting as an early warning system for environmental risks.
What Does the Indicator Measure?
The indicator tracks the application of mineral (synthetic or chemical) fertilizers, specifically focusing on the three essential plant macronutrients:
Nitrogen (N)
Phosphorus (as $P_2O_5$)
Potassium (as $K_2O$)
The metric excludes organic fertilizers like animal manure or compost. It is calculated by dividing the total nutrient consumption in kilograms by the total cropland area (which includes both arable land and land for permanent crops like orchards).
Global Trends and Disparities
Global fertilizer use has intensified over the last two decades, with the world average reaching approximately 116 kg per hectare. However, these numbers vary drastically by region, highlighting the "fertilizer gap":
Asia: The highest intensity region, often exceeding 180 kg/ha, driven by intensive cereal production in countries like China and India.
Americas: High usage (~128 kg/ha) reflecting large-scale commercial farming systems.
Europe: Moderate usage (~65 kg/ha). While once much higher, consumption has stabilized or decreased due to strict environmental policies aimed at reducing runoff.
Africa: The lowest usage region, averaging roughly 23 kg/ha. This indicates "nutrient mining," where crops extract more nutrients from the soil than are replaced, leading to long-term land degradation and low food security.
Why This Metric Matters
1. Food Security vs. Nutrient Mining
Fertilizers are estimated to be responsible for nearly half of the world's food production. Low consumption values in developing regions often point to a lack of access to inputs, which prevents farmers from reaching "yield potential." This forces the expansion of agriculture into forests and natural habitats to compensate for poor productivity.
2. Environmental Pressures
Conversely, extremely high values can indicate a "nutrient surplus." When plants cannot absorb the excess nutrients, the chemicals leach into the environment, causing:
Eutrophication: Nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into lakes and oceans, causing toxic algal blooms and "dead zones."
Climate Change: Excess nitrogen can volatilize into nitrous oxide ($N_2O$), a greenhouse gas nearly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Soil Health: Long-term over-reliance on chemical fertilizers without organic matter can disrupt soil pH and microbial life.
Calculation and Accuracy
The indicator is generally derived from a country's Apparent Consumption, calculated as:
Common Limitations
Industrial Use: Some chemicals used in fertilizers (like ammonia) are also used in manufacturing. National statistics may occasionally overstate agricultural use if industrial volumes aren't separated.
Scale Masking: A national average can be misleading. A country might have a moderate average, while one specific region is heavily over-fertilizing and another is in a nutrient deficit.
The Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare indicator remains a cornerstone for monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2 and 12). By balancing the need for higher yields with the necessity of environmental protection, it helps guide policies toward "Precision Agriculture"—applying the right amount of nutrients at the right time to ensure a sustainable food future.
Methodology: FAO Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare of Cropland
The methodology for the Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare indicator is a standardized process that allows for global comparisons of agricultural intensity. It relies on a consistent definition of nutrients and land area to ensure data from different countries can be compared side-by-side.
1. Data Collection Process
The data is primarily gathered through the FAO Fertilizers Questionnaire, which is sent annually to national ministries of agriculture or national statistical offices.
Primary Source: Official national statistics.
Secondary Source: If a country does not provide data, the FAO uses UN COMTRADE data (trade statistics) to estimate "Apparent Consumption."
Refinement: Data is cross-referenced with production capacities and agricultural census reports to ensure accuracy.
2. Nutrient Standardization
Because fertilizers come in many different chemical forms (e.g., Urea, DAP, MOP), the FAO converts all products into their nutrient equivalents. This ensures that 1 ton of Urea (46% Nitrogen) is not treated the same as 1 ton of Ammonium Nitrate (34% Nitrogen).
Nitrogen (N): Measured as elemental Nitrogen.
Phosphorus (P): Measured as Phosphate equivalent ($P_2O_5$).
Potassium (K): Measured as Potash equivalent ($K_2O$).
3. The Calculation Formula
The indicator is calculated using two main steps:
Step A: Determining Agricultural Use
Total use is typically calculated as "Apparent Consumption" for countries that do not track actual farm-level application:
Note: The FAO makes adjustments to remove quantities used for non-agricultural industrial purposes (e.g., urea used in explosives or resins).
Step B: The Per-Hectare Intensity
Once the total nutrient weight is known, it is divided by the physical land area:
4. Defining "Cropland"
To keep the "per hectare" part consistent, the FAO uses a specific definition of cropland:
Arable Land: Land under temporary crops (e.g., wheat, corn), temporary meadows, and land temporarily fallow (less than five years).
Permanent Crops: Land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and do not need replanting (e.g., coffee, cocoa, fruit trees).
Exclusions: It specifically excludes permanent meadows and pastures (land used for grazing) to focus strictly on crop-based agriculture.
5. Temporal Alignment
Calendar Year: Most data is reported on a calendar year basis (January–December).
Split Year: Some countries report by "Crop Year" (e.g., July–June). The FAO harmonizes these to the closest calendar year to maintain a consistent global time series.
6. Methodological Challenges
The "Manure Gap": The current methodology focuses only on inorganic fertilizers. In regions where livestock manure is a primary nutrient source, this indicator may understate the total nutrient load on the land.
Stockpiling: Apparent consumption assumes that all fertilizer imported or produced in a year is used in that same year, which may not account for large inventories held by distributors.
Key Organizations Involved
The production and maintenance of the Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare indicator is a massive international undertaking. While the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is the lead custodian, the data relies on a network of government agencies, international bodies, and private sector associations.
1. Lead Agency: The FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is the primary body responsible for collecting, validating, and disseminating this data.
FAOSTAT: The statistical division that hosts the database. It manages the annual Fertilizer Resources Questionnaire sent to member countries.
Land and Water Division (NSL): Provides the technical expertise to ensure the data is used correctly for environmental and soil health assessments.
Global Soil Partnership (GSP): An initiative hosted by the FAO that works on soil fertility and established the International Network on Fertilizer Analysis (INFA) to improve the quality of fertilizer laboratory data.
2. National Partners (Primary Data Sources)
Every year, the FAO relies on specific national entities to provide "official" data. If these organizations do not report, the indicator cannot be calculated accurately for that country.
National Statistical Offices (NSOs): The central hubs for all country-level data (e.g., the U.S. Census Bureau or India’s MOSPI).
Ministries of Agriculture: These provide the granular details on crop areas and actual fertilizer application rates.
Customs and Trade Departments: Essential for the "Apparent Consumption" calculation, as they track the imports and exports of fertilizer products.
3. The Private Sector & Industry Associations
The fertilizer industry is unique because private associations often have more real-time data than governments.
International Fertilizer Association (IFA): The most critical non-government partner. Based in Paris, the IFA represents over 400 fertilizer companies worldwide. The FAO and IFA have a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share data (IFASTAT) and harmonize methodologies.
International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC): A non-profit focusing on soil fertility and market development, particularly in developing nations where official government data might be missing.
Regional Associations: Groups like Fertilizers Europe, the Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA), and the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) provide regional expertise and help cross-verify national consumption figures.
4. Supporting International Organizations
These groups use the FAO's data to create broader economic and environmental models:
The World Bank: Integrates this indicator into its World Development Indicators (WDI) database to track agricultural productivity and economic health.
United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD): Provides the COMTRADE database, which the FAO uses to track the trade of fertilizer products globally.
OECD: Uses the indicator to monitor agri-environmental performance among its member nations.
IPCC: Uses fertilizer consumption data to calculate national greenhouse gas inventories, specifically for nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) emissions.
Summary of Roles
| Entity | Role in the Indicator |
| FAO | Custodian, data validation, and global dissemination via FAOSTAT. |
| National Governments | Primary reporting of production, trade, and cropland area. |
| IFA (Industry) | Providing expert estimates and private sector market data (IFASTAT). |
| UN Statistics Division | Providing the underlying global trade data (COMTRADE). |
| World Bank | Re-publishing data for global economic development tracking. |
.jpg "FAO - Leading Countries in Fertilizer Intensity")
Leading Countries in Fertilizer Intensity
The ranking of countries by fertilizer consumption per hectare often yields surprising results. While global giants like China and India use the largest total volume of fertilizers, they are rarely the leaders in intensity (kilograms per hectare). Instead, the top spots are typically occupied by small nations with highly specialized, high-value agricultural sectors or unique geographical constraints.
1. The Global Leaders (2024–2025 Snapshot)
According to recent FAO and World Bank datasets, the following countries consistently report the highest application rates. These figures represent the sum of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus ($P_2O_5$), and Potassium ($K_2O$) nutrients.
| Rank | Country | Approx. Usage (kg/ha) | Primary Drivers |
| 1 | Malaysia | ~2,900 | Massive oil palm plantations require extreme nutrient inputs. |
| 2 | Kuwait | ~2,000 | Desert agriculture on tiny plots requires intensive fertilization. |
| 3 | New Zealand | ~1,300 | Intensive dairy farming and pasture-based nutrient loading. |
| 4 | Costa Rica | ~1,000 | High-input export crops (bananas and pineapples). |
| 5 | Ireland | ~900 | Intensive grassland management for beef and dairy exports. |
2. Why Small Countries Lead the Rankings
High intensity is usually the result of "Specialized Agriculture." Because the indicator is a ratio (Total Nutrients ÷ Cropland Area), two specific scenarios create these massive numbers:
The "Plantation" Effect (e.g., Malaysia, Costa Rica)
Countries that focus heavily on industrial export crops like oil palm, bananas, and pineapples apply far more fertilizer than a typical cereal farmer. Because these crops are grown year-round in tropical climates, the soil requires constant replenishment to maintain high yields.
The "Arid Intensity" Effect (e.g., Kuwait, UAE)
In desert nations, the "cropland area" (the denominator) is very small. To grow anything in sand or via hydroponics/greenhouses, farmers must provide 100% of the plant's nutrition through irrigation water (fertigation). This results in an extremely high concentration of nutrients per square meter.
3. Large Agricultural Powers
For context, the world's major food producers generally fall into a "moderate-high" range. They use more fertilizer in total, but because they have vast tracts of land, their per hectare average is lower:
China: ~390–400 kg/ha (Highly intensive, but slowly declining due to "Zero Growth" policies).
Brazil: ~340 kg/ha (Driven by massive soybean and corn exports).
India: ~200 kg/ha (High usage in the "Green Revolution" heartlands like Punjab).
United Kingdom: ~190 kg/ha.
United States: ~130 kg/ha (Large-scale efficiency keeps the per-hectare average lower than in Asia).
4. The "Nutrient Deficit" Countries
At the opposite end of the spectrum are countries where fertilizer use is so low it threatens soil health:
Sub-Saharan Africa Average: ~23 kg/ha.
Lowest Users: Countries like Niger, Uganda, and Somalia often report less than 10 kg/ha.
In these regions, crops "mine" the soil for nutrients without replacing them, leading to a cycle of poverty and land degradation.
Summary: Regional Intensity Averages
Asia: 186 kg/ha
Americas: 128 kg/ha
World Average: 116 kg/ha
Europe: 65 kg/ha
Africa: 23 kg/ha
Countries with the Fastest Improvements
While many countries have high levels of fertilizer use, the most interesting data often lies in the rate of growth. "Fastest improvement" typically refers to countries that have rapidly increased their nutrient application to close a yield gap or recover from a crisis.
Between 2023 and 2026, several countries have emerged as leaders in consumption growth, driven by aggressive agricultural policies and improved affordability.
1. Top Growth Leaders (Recent Surge)
Based on 2024–2025 reporting, the following countries have seen the most significant year-on-year increases in intensity:
Cuba: Recently recorded a staggering 122% surge in fertilizer consumption. This represents a massive recovery effort as the country stabilizes its import supply chains to address domestic food shortages.
Laos: One of the world's fastest-growing markets for potash. Fueled by Chinese investment and a push for export-oriented agriculture, Laos is rapidly transforming from a low-intensity user to a regional production and consumption hub.
Ethiopia: A standout in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through a series of "Cluster Farming" initiatives and the construction of massive domestic blending plants, Ethiopia has achieved double-digit annual growth in fertilizer application for wheat and maize.
Brazil: While already a high user, Brazil continues to grow at roughly 8–10% annually. This is driven by the expansion of "double-cropping" (growing two crops on the same land in one year), which requires a second, intensive round of fertilization.
2. Regional Growth Hotspots
Growth is rarely uniform across the globe. Currently, two regions are "improving" their application rates faster than others:
Central and Eastern Europe (The EU-13)
While Western Europe is intentionally reducing fertilizer use to meet environmental goals, countries like Estonia, Romania, and Poland are seeing rapid growth.
The Driver: Modernizing post-Soviet agricultural systems to match the yields of Western neighbors.
The Metric: Estonia recently jumped to a top global position in growth percentage, reflecting a highly digitized and intensifying grain sector.
South Asia (The Recovery Phase)
India and Sri Lanka are seeing significant "improvement" in 2025/2026 after a period of volatility.
Sri Lanka: After a disastrous 2021 ban on chemical fertilizers that collapsed yields, the country is seeing a sharp rebound (over 30% growth) as it restores conventional nutrient inputs to stabilize its economy.
India: While total volume is high, the "improvement" is moving toward Nano-fertilizers (like Nano-DAP), which improve efficiency rather than just gross tonnage.
3. Factors Driving "Fast Improvement"
Why do some countries suddenly jump in the rankings?
Subsidy Shifts: When a government introduces a "Nutrient Based Subsidy" (like India or Ethiopia), farmers can suddenly afford more than just Nitrogen, leading to a balanced growth in P and K.
Import Substitution: Countries like Nigeria and Morocco have increased domestic use because they built their own production plants, making the product cheaper and more accessible for local farmers.
Yield Gap Closing: In many African and Central Asian nations, current yields are only 20% of their potential. Rapid growth in fertilizer use is often the first step in a "Green Revolution" style productivity spike.
Summary: Growth vs. Level
It is important to distinguish between high-use countries and fast-improving countries:
| Category | Typical Countries | Metric |
| High-Intensity Leaders | Malaysia, Kuwait, Ireland | Stable at >800 kg/ha |
| Fastest Growth (Recovery) | Cuba, Sri Lanka | >25% Year-over-Year |
| Strategic Growth (Developing) | Ethiopia, Laos, Nigeria | 10–15% Compound Growth |
Key Factors for Improvement
"Improvement" in the context of the fertilizer indicator is interpreted differently depending on a country’s current status. For developing nations, improvement means increasing usage to close yield gaps; for advanced economies, it means increasing efficiency while reducing gross application rates.
The following factors are the primary drivers of these shifts in the 2024–2026 period:
1. Economic Drivers: Affordability & Subsidies
Economics remains the strongest factor influencing whether a farmer applies fertilizer.
Fertilizer-to-Crop Price Ratio: Improvement occurs when fertilizer prices fall relative to the price of the crop (e.g., corn or wheat). In 2024, global affordability improved as natural gas prices (a key input for nitrogen) stabilized.
Targeted Subsidies: Many "fastest improvement" countries, such as Ethiopia and India, utilize "Nutrient-Based Subsidies." These encourage farmers to use balanced amounts of P and K rather than just cheap Nitrogen, leading to healthier soils and better yields.
2. Technological Drivers: Precision & Innovation
Modern technology allows countries to increase their agricultural output even if their "kg/ha" metric stays flat or decreases—a concept known as decoupling.
4R Nutrient Stewardship: This global framework promotes the Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time, and Right Place. Countries adopting this see a "quality improvement" where nutrients reach the plant instead of washing into rivers.
Nano-Fertilizers: Emerging in markets like India, these ultra-small particles (like Nano-Urea) allow for foliar spraying. Because they are more efficient, a country might show a "statistical drop" in kg/ha while actually improving plant nutrition.
Digital Soil Mapping: Using drones and satellite data to create precision maps. Instead of blanketing a whole field, farmers apply fertilizer only where the soil is deficient.
3. Institutional Drivers: Extension & Training
Fertilizer is only effective if the farmer knows how to use it. Improvement is often driven by "knowledge transfer."
Extension Services: Countries like China have seen "improvement through reduction" by deploying thousands of scientists to work directly with smallholder farmers to correct over-fertilization.
Soil Testing Services: When governments provide free or low-cost soil testing, farmers stop "guessing" and start applying the exact nutrient mix required, which often leads to a rise in Potassium (K) use in previously Nitrogen-heavy regions.
4. Infrastructural Drivers: Domestic Production
Reliability of supply is a major bottleneck for "low-intensity" regions like Sub-Saharan Africa.
Local Blending Plants: The construction of domestic plants in Nigeria and Morocco has reduced the "last-mile" cost of fertilizer. When fertilizer is available at the local village level rather than just at a distant port, consumption rates "improve" rapidly.
Logistics & Storage: Improvements in port efficiency and dry storage prevent the chemical degradation of fertilizer, ensuring that the "kilograms applied" are actually potent.
5. Policy & Environmental Mandates
In the EU and North America, "improvement" is defined by Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE).
Regulatory Caps: Policies like the EU Green Deal aim to reduce nutrient losses by 50% by 2030. This forces an improvement in how fertilizer is used, driving the shift toward "smart" fertilizers and organic-inorganic blends.
Carbon Credits: As farmers are increasingly paid for soil carbon sequestration, they are shifting toward integrated management that uses less synthetic Nitrogen (which has a high carbon footprint).
Summary of Improvement Paths
| Stage | Definition of "Improvement" | Primary Factor |
| Low Use (e.g., Uganda) | Increasing kg/ha to reach crop potential. | Infrastructure & Affordability. |
| Emerging (e.g., Brazil) | Balancing N-P-K ratios for better soil. | Subsidies & Domestic Production. |
| High Use (e.g., China) | Reducing kg/ha while maintaining yield. | Digital Tech & Extension Services. |
Global Projects and Organizations Driving Improvement
"Improvement" in fertilizer consumption is managed through a sophisticated ecosystem of international projects. These initiatives generally fall into two categories: Increasing access in low-intensity regions (like Sub-Saharan Africa) and Increasing efficiency in high-intensity regions (like Asia and Europe).
1. Leading International Organizations
These organizations provide the funding, scientific research, and logistical frameworks required to move the needle on national indicators.
| Organization | Primary Role | Key Focus |
| IFDC | Technical Lead | Developing "next-generation" fertilizers and improving soil health in Africa and Asia. |
| IFA | Industry Catalyst | Promoting the 4R Stewardship framework (Right Source, Rate, Time, Place) globally. |
| World Bank | Financing & Policy | Funding massive infrastructure projects and tracking the AG.CON.FERT.ZS indicator. |
| AGRA | African Transformation | Focused on 11 African countries to double smallholder incomes via better input access. |
| One Acre Fund | Field Implementation | A social enterprise providing "bundles" of seed and fertilizer directly to over 1.5 million farmers. |
2. Key Global Projects (2024–2026)
The "Soil Values" Program (2024–2034)
Target: Burkina Faso, Mali, Northern Nigeria, and Niger.
Goal: A 10-year transformative initiative funded by the Netherlands to establish sustainable soil fertility management. It focuses on the "Sahelian" belt where fertilizer use is critically low.
Impact: Aims to move these countries from a state of "soil mining" to sustainable nutrient replenishment.
TRANSFORM Ethiopia (2025–2028)
Target: Ethiopia.
Goal: A joint project between the EU and the Netherlands to modernize Ethiopia’s fertilizer supply chain.
Why it Matters: Ethiopia is one of the "fastest improvers" in Africa; this project uses bottom-up participatory approaches to ensure farmers use the right blend of nutrients rather than just bulk Urea.
Global Soil Doctors Programme (FAO & PhosAgro)
Target: 20+ Developing Countries.
Goal: Provides soil testing kits and educational materials to help farmers become "doctors" of their own land.
Innovation: It has trained over 11,000 farmers to perform real-time soil analysis, reducing the "guesswork" that leads to wasted fertilizer.
FeSeRWAM (Fertilizer and Seed Recommendations Map)
Target: West Africa (ECOWAS region).
Organization: IFDC and USAID.
Goal: A digital platform that provides site-specific "agro-input packages." It tells a farmer exactly which fertilizer mix to buy based on their specific GPS location and crop type.
3. The Role of Industry: Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)
Organizations like the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) and major companies (e.g., Yara, OCP Group, PhosAgro) partner with the FAO to fund the Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN).
Standardization: This project harmonizes how soil is tested in 1,000+ laboratories across 160 countries.
Data Accuracy: Without standard lab results, the "Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare" indicator would be based on poor data. These organizations ensure that "100 kg/ha" in Brazil means the same thing as "100 kg/ha" in Vietnam.
4. Challenges Faced by These Projects
Macroeconomic Shocks: Currency devaluations in countries like Nigeria and Malawi have recently made imported fertilizers 2–3x more expensive, often neutralizing the gains made by projects like AGRA.
The "Last Mile" Problem: Organizations like One Acre Fund are critical because while the World Bank can fund a port, One Acre Fund ensures the 50kg bag actually reaches a remote village on a motorcycle.
Improver Benchmarks and Project Standards
When international organizations like the World Bank, IFDC, or FAO launch agricultural "improvement" projects, they don't just aim for "more fertilizer." They use specific benchmarks to determine if a country is moving toward a sustainable "sweet spot"—balancing food security with environmental safety.
1. The Global Targets (The "50 kg/ha" Milestone)
For many developing regions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the primary benchmark for over a decade was set by the Abuja Declaration:
The Target: Increase fertilizer consumption from a historical average of 8 kg/ha to at least 50 kg of nutrients per hectare.
Current Progress: While the 2015 deadline passed, this 50 kg/ha mark remains the standard "entry-level" benchmark for projects aimed at ending soil mining and achieving basic food self-sufficiency.
2. Efficiency Benchmarks: PFP and NUE
In more advanced or "fastest improvement" projects (like those in China, India, or Brazil), the benchmark shifts from quantity to efficiency. Organizations track these key performance indicators (KPIs):
Partial Factor Productivity (PFP)
This measures the kilograms of crop produced per kilogram of nutrient applied.
Benchmark: Projects often aim for a PFP of >40–60 kg of grain per kg of N. If the number is lower (e.g., 20 kg grain / 1 kg N), the project flags "over-use" or "wastage."
Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE)
NUE tracks the percentage of applied nitrogen actually taken up by the plant versus lost to the environment.
The Global Benchmark: The current global average is roughly 40–50%.
Project Goal: Modern sustainability projects (like the EU Green Deal) set a benchmark of >70% NUE by 2030.
3. Project-Specific Success Metrics
When a project like AGRA or IFDC’s Soil Values evaluates a "highly improved" country, they use a multi-tiered benchmarking system:
| Level | Goal | Benchmark / Indicator |
| Recovery | Stability | Return to pre-crisis kg/ha levels (e.g., Sri Lanka recovery). |
| Expansion | Yield Gap | Achieving 80% of potential yield through balanced N-P-K. |
| Sustainability | Nutrient Balance | Negative Nutrient Balance (ensuring soil isn't being "mined" of micronutrients like Zinc). |
| Innovation | Precision | Reduction in bulk volume by 15–20% via Nano-fertilizers. |
4. Organizational Standards for Benchmarking
Different organizations prioritize different benchmarks based on their mission:
World Bank (AG.CON.FERT.ZS): Focuses on macroeconomic benchmarks. They look at fertilizer consumption as a percentage of a country's GDP or its impact on the national trade balance.
IFA (Industry): Uses the "Productivity Optimum Rate" (POR). This benchmark identifies the exact point where adding more fertilizer no longer increases profit for the farmer.
FAO (GSP): Focuses on Soil Health Benchmarks. They measure "Soil Organic Carbon" alongside fertilizer use; if fertilizer use goes up but carbon goes down, the project is considered a failure.
5. The "Soil Doctor" Benchmark
A new emerging benchmark used in field projects is the "Response Rate." * Standard: If 1 kg of fertilizer does not result in at least a 3–5 kg increase in crop yield, the project triggers an intervention. This usually means the soil has other issues (like acidity or lack of water) that make the fertilizer ineffective.