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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase the (a) adoption and (b) production of low carbon fertiliser.

Defra is committed to promoting the use of less environmentally damaging fertilisers and better nutrient use efficiency. The existing UK regulatory regime for the manufacture and placing of fertilisers on the market in the UK is fragmented and in need of modernisation. It does not cover organic or recycled nutrients, and newer types of fertilisers.

We aim to improve this by putting in place a conformity assessment framework for fertilisers and aim to consult on this later in 2023. The framework should smooth the route to market for new and innovative products which are less polluting to the environment or are less resource intensive in their creation. This should provide farmers with a wider choice of more sustainable fertilisers and will ease the route to market for low carbon fertilisers, therefore providing farmers with more opportunities to adopt these fertilising products.

The framework should valorise fertilisers made from organic materials, opening the market to products that re-use nutrients. The process of implementing new regulations will be iterative as more research is needed into newer fertiliser types before requirements for these products can be drafted into law.

Defra cannot recommend which fertilisers must be used. However we have responsibility for setting parameters to ensure their safety, to ensure that they maximise the use of nutrients, and also to reduce potential losses through emissions from their production through to their use.

Given the continuing high fertiliser prices, it remains a priority that we must work to pioneer new technologies to manufacture more organic-based fertiliser products in future. Where possible we will continue to encourage and support such applications for the development and adoption of these through the Farming Innovation Programme. We are also providing financial support to help farmers make best use of their manures and slurries, to complement inorganic fertilisers through the Farming Investment Fund.