Potash producers have 8 billion reasons why demand for the minerals that increase food production will grow in the coming decades. Plus, a sinkhole emerging under a Russian mine is raising questions about the ability to produce enough fertilizer to feed what is projected to be an even larger and more demanding global population. The right companies could reap the benefits of exposure to the agricultural market. In this interview with The Mining Report, Paradigm Capital Analyst Spencer Churchill shares some of his favorites and talks about a unique streaming model that benefits from immediate upside.

The Mining Report: The United Nations recently raised population projections based on increased births in industrialized nations, and has said that it expects 8 billion people to be on the planet by 2050. Is this good news for agriculture and fertilizer companies?

Spencer Churchill: Population growth is a positive long-term driver for agriculture and fertilizer companies, and this has been one of the key arguments for many years in favor of investing in these stocks. That said, the market is more concerned with changes in the near-term fundamentals (grain and fertilizer prices, inventories, geo-political events, macro-economic factors etc.) and we believe the long-term argument has lost some weight in the minds of investors, partly because it is repeated so many times and referred to during periods of underperformance.

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TMR: Will some types of companies in some places do better than others? What is your litmus test for picking companies?

SC: Our litmus test for picking companies is a combination of financial health (solid balance sheet, track record of profitability in different environments), strong management, positive macro trends and valuation (trading in line or at a discount to peers/historical average).