"A rock and a hard place" and "Tackling the P problem" - Dependence of agriculture on phosphate fertiliser - Issues and the way out - Papers by Soil Association and J Venkateswarlu

These two reports discuss the dependency of agriculture on phosphorous and the ways to mitigate the problem.

The first report looks at agricultural dependence of chemical nutrients on a global scale and even discusses the potential international political fallout of a reduction in phosphorous. The second report is focused on ways to tackle the dependency on this mineral, in the Indian context. However, both speak of the need for finding alternatives to the current methods of obtaining phosphorous, which is largely through mining.

Essentially 'P' in the well known acronym NPK, is phosphorous. This is a vital micro-nutrient in agriculture, all across the world. However, there are only three places which mine and export this chemical nutrient. These are Western Sahara which is under Morocco, China and USA. Recently the US has banned exports of phosphorous while China now levies a very high export tax on it.

Looking at the issue from a global and macro perspective, the first report discusses the environmental issues surrounding the mining of phosphorous and the production of phosphate fertiliser. It states that toxic and radioactive waste, greenhouse gases are the unwanted by-products. It also states that being in so much demand and dependent on other factors like the price of crude oil and international trade, the commodity price of phosphate rock has increased by 800%.

In the UK, the price of phosphate fertiliser hovers between 310 - 320 pounds per tonne (on farm) and this could rise. Further the trade in phosphorous can be used as an economic weapon because the number of producers are so few and the demand is so high, thus for reasons of national and economic sovereignty, there is need to find alternatives to it.

This report also looks at European policies and UK policies on phosphate fertiliser. Though the new version of the UK Food Security Assessment, takes cognisanse of phosphate rock reserves, it does not promote alternatives but hopes that technology will improve improve efficiency and thus decrease costs.

The second report also recognises the finite availability of phosphorous rock. It suggests that in case of paddy cultivation (one of the largest consumers of phosphorus), System of Rice Intensification is the best method to reduce dependency on phosphate fertiliser, as this form of cultivation is one way of reducing apatite formation. This report calculates the amount of phosphorous required for various crop groups. It also suggests the fertiliser dosage for various crops.

In both reports, the need to improve mycorhizal activity to reduce phosphate dependency is suggested. While 'Tackling the P Problem', suggests that the future lies in recycling though natural and organic farming, the report 'A rock and a hard place', in its final chapter discusses how ecological sanitation can be used as a medium-term strategy to circumvent the high cost of phosphate fertiliser.

Download 'A rock and a hard place - Peak phosphorus and the threat to our food security' from the Soil Association website here.

Download the paper 'Tackling the P Problem' below: