The Labour Party’s food security ambitions: why a domestic fertiliser strategy is essential
Recent farmer protests in the UK have demonstrated the urgent need for all political parties to better listen to rural voters. The Labour Party -currently twenty points ahead of the Conservatives in opinion polls- has made a conscious effort to reach out to farmers and the rural community since 2020. This is a welcome approach: Keir Starmer, Daniel Zeichner, Luke Pollard and latterly Steve Reed have all shown a real commitment to listening to and working with British farmers and food producers and demonstrated that they have a sophisticated understanding of the complexities of the food system.
Last year Keir Starmer made a significant intervention, telling the National Farmers’ Union that Labour “seeks a new relationship with the countryside and farming communities…based on respect and on genuine partnership.” Crucially, Starmer publicly acknowledged what Britain’s farmers and food producers have been saying since well before the Covid pandemic: that food security is national security.
At January’s Oxford Farming Conference, Steve Reed acknowledged the pressures faced by Britain’s farmers, noting that “soaring energy prices have clobbered farmers and producers, forcing up prices for fertilisers and animal feed. Over 6,000 agricultural businesses have closed down since 2017.”
His solution is for the proposed new state-run renewable power provider GB Energy to be established to create “cheaper energy for rural businesses and for our farmers…and get the national grid moving faster.” He further promised that “Labour will slash the wait for planning decisions from years to months, putting money into the pockets of thousands of our farmers.”
Fertilisers are essential to food production: Labour needs to take this issue seriously
Any future Labour policy for farming and food security must take account of the importance of fertilisers, because without these essential inputs, food production quickly grinds to a halt.
Although some environmental campaigners may press for a country-wide farming system that is free of manmade fertilisers, the reality from Sri Lanka - where the government sought to abruptly ban the use of synthetic fertilisers without a well-thought through transition plan, leading to economic and political chaos - makes it clear that fertilisers will remain central to any serious UK food security policies, at least in the short to medium term.
Labour therefore urgently needs to start examining the politics of fertiliser production and must develop a coherent strategy on how to oversee this vital component of the UK’s food system. The issue of fertilisers must be taken seriously because the UK’s domestic supply is under unprecedented strain, while international supply chains are uniquely diversified and increasingly vulnerable to geopolitical shocks.
Global supply chains remain vulnerable amid price volatility
There are three main kinds of fertilisers, derived from ammonia (nitrogen and hydrogen), phosphates (phosphorus) and potash (potassium).
There have been significant changes to export flows from major global fertiliser producing countries over the last five years. For example, of all fertilisers used globally in 2019, Russian exports alone accounted for 19% of potassium, 15% of nitrogen and 14% of phosphorous. However, sanctions on Russia have since significantly reduced international supplies. In response to increasing demand and reduced supply, other countries that are major global producers, such as China, also restricted fertiliser exports between 2021 and 2022.
The UK imports most of its artificial fertilisers and the impact of changes in supply and demand has become an acute issue. The cost of imports jumped up to £1.2 billion from 2021 to 2022, and production costs could increase further as raw materials are exhausted, adversely affecting British farmers and consumers.
Can domestic fertiliser production keep up with demand?
So why shouldn’t British farmers just use British fertiliser? The issue isn’t so simple.
In August 2022, CF Fertilisers on Teesside announced a halt in ammonia production because of the closure of its Billingham plant at Haverton Hill, a major UK fertiliser factory. Some commentators and local Stockton North Labour MP Alex Cunningham have attributed this closure to the rapid increase in energy prices affecting the ability to maintain its operations, as well as carbon credits. However, CF Fertilisers plans to continue producing ammonium nitrate using imports, but in the meantime domestic carbon dioxide supplies, an important by-product used in fizzy and alcoholic drinks, has been disrupted. There are now UK policy proposals to apply carbon tariffs to imported fertilisers.
Also in Northeast England, the Woodsmith polyhalite fertiliser mine is being planned by the mining giant Anglo American, but analysts say it is unlikely to be completed anytime soon, having seen several delays and changes in ownership. Most of the mine’s offtake will be destined for export to China.
Could the UK produce food without nitrogen-based fertilisers?
The alternatives to domestically-produced nitrogen are phosphates and potash, both of which have major international implications and are at risk from geopolitical tensions. 70% of the world’s phosphorus reserves are located in Morocco and the volatile Western Sahara region, while China and Russia are also important producers of phosphate rock. The majority of the world’s potash reserves are to be found in Canada and Belarus, with the remaining potash concentrated in Russia, China, Germany and Israel.
Statistics compiled by Chatham House’s Resource Trade initiative should cause Labour’s policymakers to wake up. If Britain cannot produce enough of its own fertilisers, it has to rely on imports: the UK had spent USD$1 billion on imported fertilisers in 2020 alone. Over half of these imports were nitrogenous fertilisers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Germany and Russia. The Netherlands, Morocco and Israel were the biggest exporters of phosphatic fertiliser to the UK. British imports of potassic fertilisers were overwhelmingly from Israel, Spain and Germany. At time when both Russia and Israel are at war, and the status of the UK’s trade relations with EU Member States remains uncertain, the country’s reliance on imported fertiliser should be a real concern.
This year Labour has a unique opportunity to win over ‘rural wall’ voters, potentially unseating Conservative MPs including Jeremy Hunt, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Thérèse Coffey, Andrea Leadsom, Mel Stride, Mark Harper and Liam Fox. The Conservatives have taken farmers votes for granted for too long: Labour leaders should seize the opportunity to engage meaningfully with farmers and food producers, and work with them to address the UK agricultural industry’s vulnerability to surges in fertiliser costs.
A Labour policy on fertilisers would require diversifying sources of production, exploring alternatives to artificial fertiliser and increasing fertiliser efficacy. A domestic fertiliser strategy would help to reduce UK dependency on fertiliser imports and to address long-term food security, in a world where this country still imports almost 40% of its food requirements.
