Performance of Cooperatives in the U.S. Fertilizer Industry: Potential Role in Latin American Fertilizer Development

Farmers in the U.S. and other developed countries have become aware of the importance of fertilizer in boosting the food supply of a nutrition deficient world.This awareness is only now beginning to appear in the developing countries of the world who have an overabundance of people (two-thirds of the world’s population), a shortage of domestically grown food and a small supply of foreign exchange with which to pay for food imports. The production of food in Latin America has increased only slightly in the past few years.The chemical fertilizer industry in Latin America is an infant industry.Farmer-owned cooperatives in the United States have made important contributions in the development and performance of many agricultural input industries and in the marketing of agricultural products.This is true of the fertilizer industry where cooperatives have been partially responsible for increased fertilizer quality, lower prices and better services.Few cooperatives have been developed and consequently they have had little influence on the agricultural situation existing in Latin America. The objectives of this thesis are to: (1) Review the development and performance of the fertilizer industry in the U.S. in relation to growth of the national economy (2) Study the development of cooperatives and their remedial role in the performance of the national fertilizer industry (3) Review the present Latin American fertilizer industry regarding production and consumption of nitrogen fertilizer in relation to present and future needs (4) Discuss the barriers to foreign investment in the production and distribution of fertilizer (5) Outline the potential role which United States cooperatives may play in the production and distribution of fertilizer in Latin America. Advisor:Richard G. Wals