Won’t phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser be bad for the economy and make food more expensive?

No. We cannot continue to rely on synthetic nitrogen indefinitely. Communities across Aotearoa are facing substantial costs because of the overuse of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. Communities are paying millions and even billions of dollars to find new drinking water sources or treat their water to remove pollutants.

Only 3% of nitrogen fertiliser is used to grow fruit and vegetables while 62% is used in the dairy industry. Most dairy is exported, and producing more has not made cheese or butter cheaper for New Zealanders.

In Aotearoa, our competitive advantage is in producing high-quality food from healthy land. Supporting New Zealand farmers to maximise value rather than volume will help them stay ahead of environmental or market pressures.

There will always be challenges in any transition. That includes adapting our farming systems to be profitable, resilient and sustainable in the long term. Farmers rely on healthy water and healthy soils and they know that we cannot keep prioritising more and more volume at any cost.