Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to safeguard British production of fertilizer for food production.

The UK sources fertiliser from a wide range of countries and also produces fertiliser such as ammonium nitrate domestically. The situation and impacts on farmers in particular, and industry more widely, from current high fertiliser prices, are being monitored closely.

There are nutrient management techniques and technologies that can be used alongside fertiliser products that help the efficacy of fertilisers and help maintain high yield and good quality produce. Support in the form of guidance from fertiliser suppliers and agricultural organisations such as National Farmers Union can be found from various public sources. Defra is aware that AHDB have published many helpful public pieces of guidance, advice and webinar recordings on mitigating high fertiliser prices.

Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union, fertiliser producers and importers, and the key sector representative body for fertilisers, the Agricultural Industries Confederation. We are continuing to monitor the security and stability of fertiliser and other supply chains, and working closely with colleagues across Government and devolved administrations as well as industry figures to share knowledge and discuss all options available to tackle these issues. This will help inform how Defra and other industry bodies can best support farmers.

Defra is committed to promoting the use of less environmentally damaging fertilisers and better nutrient use efficiency. The current shortage of inorganic fertilisers provides an opportunity for farmers to continue exploring increasing their use of environmentally sustainable products and more efficient nutrient management methods.

In the short term, farmers are paying more for their fertiliser and must pass that cost on through the produce they sell. However, as the Secretary of State explained to the NFU conference in February, those increased costs will cause some farmers to use less fertiliser, some to use more nitrogen fixing cover crops as part of their rotation and some to seek to substitute at least a portion of their manufactured fertilisers with organic manures as a substitute. Many of the challenges we face in agriculture will require a fusion of the best new technology available to us with a rediscovery of some of the conventional principles of good farm husbandry. It is important that we keep our minds open to creative solutions.