How should plant nutrition evolve in the next decades to support human nutrition in a low-carbon, environment-friendly and circular economy? The members of the Science Panel on Responsible Plant Nutrition (SPRPN) have developed a vision for such transformation, A New Paradigm for Plant Nutrition, which follows a food system approach in which multiple socioeconomic, environmental and health objectives are simultaneously achieved.

In this new societal plant nutrition optimum, the food and nutrition requirements of a rising global population are met, farmers’ livelihoods are improved, while harmful environmental impacts caused by nutrient losses are minimized. Achieving this New Paradigm will depend on the collaboration of all stakeholders involved in the cycling of nutrients, and those influencing it: policymakers, the global fertilizer industry, farmers, traders, retailers and consumers.