To Inherit the Earth: A Question of Survival

Presented by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, this video undertakes the somewhat daunting task of making the development and utilization of fertilizer in and for Third World countries seem interesting...and succeeds! Most of its relatively short screen time is devoted to presenting the dreadful problems facing agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. Population--and, therefore, demand for food--are growing at alarming rates, and the agricultural techniques used in these areas are destroying the soil by leeching (or "mining") it of its nutrients. This program documents the efforts by the IFDC to develop and customize fertilizers and fertilization techniques for use in Africa, following triumphant successes in Bangladesh and in Albania. Interestingly enough, there appears to be no "hidden agenda": this is not a propaganda film to promote the inculcation (i.e., sale) of Western technology into Third World countries for profit-making reasons; on the contrary it appears to be truly altruistic in its motives. A fascinating presentation of a potentially deadly dull topic, this video can enliven a wide range of discussions, from social problems in sub-Saharan Africa to the economics of agribusiness in Third World countries. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (M. Rechel)