Fertilizer use in the EU, OECD and in the least developed countries between 1961 and 2017. Source: authors’ own editing based on the database of the FAO (FAO 2020c). Fertilizer use per area of cropland largely increased until the 1980s. Generally, in the most developed regions, decreasing fertilizer use could be recorded, while a further reduction can be expected in the future due to environmental concerns.