How close is the world to “peak phosphorus” — that point in time when production of phosphorus will reach its maximum and it will get harder to access it? The answer to this question is crucial as its availability influences a country’s food security.

Presence of phosphorus is essential in soil for crop growth and its shortfall can result in reduction of crop yield. But the reserves of phosphate rock, the main source of the element is fast depleting.

With an annual increase of 2.3 per cent in its demand, phosphorus reserves will most likely get exhausted in another 50 to 100 years, states a 2015 study by professors of the West Bengal State University, Kolkata.

 

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