Greener pastures

The worldwide push for greater sustainability in the agriculture sector has had drastic ramifications for the fertilizer industry. As organic agriculture has taken pride of place, the demand for and reputation of fertilizers have taken a hit.

Thus, fertilizer developers have had to innovate to stay on top in an undulating market. Fertilizer modernization projects are sprouting across the globe, while industry giants such as Haifa Group have cast new plans to provide innovative new products that enhance yields with less of an impact on the environment.

“I’m actually taking this organization through a very wide turnaround, which completely changed the prospect of the company,” CEO Motti Levin says.

“We don’t consider ourselves a simple fertilizer company; we’re a specialty fertilizer company. That means we apply nutrients directly to the root or to the leaves.”

The reason for this very precise method is to provide better yields, improve the product’s shelf life and crop strength and minimize the usage of water and minerals that can have a collateral impact on soil.

“What we’re doing is very high-level, but we’re the company that practically invented the first soluble fertilizer back in the 1960s, which was applied through drip irrigation,” Levin explains.

Toward continuous production

Haifa Group’s long history of innovation has placed it at the forefront of the global agricultural revolution. Levin, who took on the CEO role in 2018, has a firm grasp of the legacy he’s in charge of.

“We started with potassium nitrate, which is produced from Dead Sea potash,” he reveals. “Now we have more than 450 types of fertilizing solutions and our product portfolio has diversified a lot in recent years.”

The company offers a complementary range of specialty fertilizers, including water-soluble options that dissolve quickly for immediate nutrient availability and flexible application. Its controlled-release fertilizers provide a gradual, sustained nutrient supply, enabling growers to tailor strategies to different crops, growth stages and conditions. It has also branched out into biostimulants, which act as vitamins for crops.

“These materials come from organic sources, and they strengthen the character of the crop and provide the ability to sustain extreme conditions such as ultraviolet exposure,” he says.

“We’re also exploring digital solutions because if you want to grow more and be precise, you have to change the entire concept of the grower digitally.”

---

---

Advertisement

While Haifa Group’s main factory is in Israel, the company operates across 18 territories worldwide and has facilities in Europe and the Americas, including a newly built plant in Brazil. The footprint is further expanded by partnerships with manufacturers and suppliers, combining global scale with strong local expertise.

NewMed Energy, an Israeli natural gas producer, is one such regional ally, providing natural gas that allows Haifa Group to produce ammonia, while Italian engineering company Saipem was responsible for the construction of its blue ammonia facility.

“I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our long-standing partnership with Saipem. Over the course of several years, this partnership has been characterized by an exceptional level of professionalism, technical excellence, transparency and a strong service-oriented approach,” Levin says.

“They have been a true partner on this journey, sharing both challenges and solutions with openness and integrity. It is a great honor for us to walk this path together with Saipem.”

For Levin, such partnerships are fundamental to maintaining high levels of operation.

“Our industry is working 24/7. We’re working on continuous production,” he says.

He notes that this is only possible with good relationships with trusted vendors.

“In my view, trust is the key to everything. It all starts and ends with trust, which can build the bridge to ensure that you’re overcoming any circumstances, as tough as they may be.”

An innovative future

One of the main challenges Haifa Group and its contemporaries face is that the majority of growers continue to rely on commodity fertilizers, according to Levin.

“They’re spreading urea on fields, pouring water on the soil, and much of the nutrients aren’t reaching the crop at all,” he points out.

“It’s a very conservative sector, and growers want to optimize their plots, so they’ll stick to what they were taught. We’re selling sophisticated fertilizers that sometimes require investment in irrigation systems.”

Levin says that rather than scrutinizing the higher prices of fertilizer, growers should consider the value fertilizers provide.

“Growers must look at the nutrient use efficiency scale. People obviously look for the cheapest solution, and our products are much more expensive than the competitors’. We’re not ashamed about that because we know our products and solutions will benefit growers much more,” he explains.

“Our challenge is to convince the market to adopt modern approaches and new technologies, and it’s always a challenge to make this shift. But as climate conditions worsen, we all have to support the crops, and Haifa Group believes that precision nutrition is the way to do it.”

The benefits, he adds, are many: mitigating environmental challenges and supply chain disruptions, minimizing collateral damage and the usage of resources, and increasing availability of fruit and vegetables.

“We’re about making more for less,” he notes.

---

---

Advertisement

And it will continue to be, given the company’s future plans. France has been earmarked for another factory, which will produce controlled-release fertilizers with a biodegradable coating. The product of 10 years of research, Levin believes the new product will be a breakthrough.

“We’ll be able to take it to the European Union market in 2028 or 2029, which is when new regulations for biodegradable coating take effect,” he reveals.

In addition, digital innovation plays a central role in the company’s strategy, including advanced precision fertilization software such as NutriNet™ and Croption, a mobile laboratory for real-time nitrogen measurement in the field, and an intelligent chatbot on the company’s website that provides growers with immediate access to crop-specific agronomic knowledge and product information.

“Together, these digital solutions help growers optimize fertilization, improve efficiency and make data-driven decisions,” he says.

Food security is a global issue, one that doesn’t discriminate. Levin says that as a pillar of the food supply sector, Haifa Group must navigate not just climate concerns, but also geopolitics and other world events that can easily disrupt the fragile sector.

“We learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that this industry needs a change in perception,” he says. “This is why we’re investing in producing our own blue ammonia, which is more sustainable, with renewable energy.

“That way, our products will mean more than ever that the grower is gaining more while minimizing the usage of minerals and water.”

Ultimately, the company understands that crops are as varied as the people who farm them. Levin says growing crops is akin to raising children.

“Children are not identical. We love them the same, but we provide for them according to their needs,” he explains.

“It’s the same with crops. They may taste the same, but they need different inputs. This is why precision nutrition is so important. This is the future of food security.”