Circular economy and six approaches to improve potassium life cycle for global crop production

The United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 calls for a transformative action to eradicate hunger and poverty and is particularly important for food production in developing countries (see SDG 1 Zero Hunger). Farmers in developing countries apply less potassium fertiliser than those in developed countries due to the high cost of imports and unavailability of domestic supplies. A circular economy approach can improve the efficient use of potassium resources throughout their life cycle from “mine to mouth” by identifying problem areas and assisting in designing supply strategies that help address the needs of farmers. As a nutrient, potassium conventionally follows a linear life cycle from mining. Using secondary data sources and literature, we analyse global demand and supply of potassium to quantify and illustrate the major supply shortages in the Global South.