As global phosphate fertiliser prices spiked four-fold in 2022 on pre-pandemic levels, a team of UK and Australian scientists launched the UK’s first coherent national transformation strategy into phosphorus sustainability. The strategy is a roadmap for how the nation can better manage this vital element, which is both essential for food production and behind widespread pollution in the UK's rivers and lakes.
The UK’s food system is in transition, driven in part by major changes to agricultural policy. It is also under pressure from climate change, land use change, Brexit uncertainties, and unforeseen shocks like COVID-19. There is another critical challenge to the UK’s food system: the secure supply and sustainable use of phosphorus.
The UK is almost entirely dependent on imported phosphorus in feeds and fertilisers, importing around 174,000 tonnes of phosphorus annually. Much of this phosphate originates from concentrated and volatile markets in China, Russia and Morocco. Despite some efficiency gains in agriculture, the mismanagement of phosphorus in the UK at large has led to serious water pollution, trade security risks and regional imbalances that are costly and inefficient. Less than half of the UK’s imported phosphorus is used productively to grow food.
The good news is there are many pockets of innovation and initiatives already under way in different sectors in the UK. These can be learned from, scaled-up and integrated to help overcome some of the challenges associated with phosphorus use. – Brent Jacobs, ISF
The 'UK Phosphorus Transformation Strategy’ identifies a suite of strategic pathways to transition from the current unsustainable situation, to a desirable future, based on extensive stakeholder consultation. It is a major output of RePhoKUs, an international research initiative led by Lancaster University and involving the University of Technology Sydney, University of Leeds, AFBI, UK CEH and funded under the UK’s Global Food Security research program.
Tackling the phosphorus problem
RePhoKus researchers, among them Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) Associate Professor Dana Cordell and Associate Professor Brent Jacobs, began by forming an understanding of the UK’s current state of phosphorus management. In doing so, they identified five key phosphorus challenges in the UK:
1. inefficient phosphorus use
2. regional phosphorus imbalances
3. legacy phosphorus in soils
4. dependence on phosphate imports, and
5. risks of phosphate supply disruption and price spikes.
The RePhoKus team then articulated a future shared vision for sustainable phosphorus management in the UK, through consultation with national stakeholders from across UK food value chain sectors, including the fertiliser industry, agriculture and farming sector, food retailers, environmental and water managers, NGOs and government departments, and looking at innovations in phosphorus management occurring in Europe and North America.
The final - and most critical - step was to co-develop pathways for the transition from current to future states with the diverse stakeholders in a national workshop session convened by Dana Cordell and Brent Jacobs.
Associate Professor Brent Jacobs says, “Theoretically there is enough phosphorus circulating in the food system and in soils. One of the pathways to achieving sustainable phosphorus use will involve developing and deploying new technologies that can extract legacy phosphorus from soils and manures and develop new renewable fertiliser markets.”
“The good news is there are many pockets of innovation and initiatives already under way in different sectors in the UK. These can be learned from, scaled-up and integrated to help overcome some of the challenges associated with phosphorus use”.
There are so many opportunities to create viable circular value chains that can at the same time buffer farmers against these geopolitical risks and fertiliser price spikes, prevent nutrients from causing algal blooms in key rivers and create local employment opportunities. – Dana Cordell, ISF
The six priority pathways collectively identified by stakeholders include:
- Technology and innovation: Develop, promote and apply innovative, scalable and cost-effective technologies for recovery of phosphorus streams, redistribution (especially animal manures), and reuse as viable renewable fertilisers.
- Policy and governance: Recognise phosphorus as a scarce resource and map existing policies to ensure coherence with promotion of a UK circular economy, consistent planning across regions/scales, and alignment with public visioning of the benefits of phosphorus reuse.
- Knowledge and research: Augment tailored nutrient management advice to the agriculture sector on effective use of recycled phosphorus sources (soil legacy, animal manures, food waste, biosolids) in UK farming systems.
- Markets and incentives: Provide incentives to encourage investment in technology, lower barriers to entry, and, develop markets for a viable organic phosphorus fertiliser sector that integrates other aspects of the circular economy (nitrogen, carbon) to reduce the burden of action on farmers.
- Community, engagement and awareness: Engage a broader range of stakeholders in setting the direction of and progress towards catchment phosphorus targets, that allow for local diversity in circular economy development pathways and demonstrate outcomes for public health and well-being (environment, society and economy).
- Integration, connections and networks: Establish a UK nutrient platform and a ‘catchments as living labs’ concept linked to information dashboards to drive data sharing among stakeholders, public engagement and cross-scale accountability for phosphorus management (imports, exports, recycling).
What next?
The next step is for the strategy to inform the co-development of sector-specific action plans and targets, with key UK stakeholders.
There are also important lessons for Australia. Associate Professor Dana Cordell says, "Australia is the world’s fifth largest importer of phosphate fertilisers. Yet our research has shown that there is about 15 times more phosphorus in Sydney’s organic wastes than in the demand for fertilisers from Greater Sydney’s farmers. This means Sydney could theoretically become Australia’s next renewable fertiliser factory by harnessing nutrients in its wastewater, food waste and poultry manure.”
“There are so many opportunities to create viable circular value chains that can at the same time buffer Australian farmers against these geopolitical risks and fertiliser price spikes, prevent nutrients from causing algal blooms in our key rivers and create local employment opportunities."
RESEARCH OUTPUTS
UK Phosphorus Transformation Strategy (2022) (Report)Researchers
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Associate Professor and Research Director -
Associate Professor and Research Director
Year
- 2022
Client
- UK Global Food Security Program
Funders
- BBSRC
- ESRC
- NERC
- Scottish Government
SDGs
This project is working towards UN Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 6.
