Publication - ‘Phosphorus price spikes: A wake-up call for phosphorus resilience’
A Policy Brief in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (published in March 2023) highlighted the critical role of phosphorus in global food systems and the alarming challenges posed by a more than 400% surge in phosphorus commodity prices since 2020.
Overview: Factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and rising fuel costs exacerbated a 400% phosphorus price spike, contributing to elevated food security risks, globally. The Russia-Ukraine conflict further disrupted phosphorus trade. At the same time, phosphorus losses to freshwaters, through insufficient municipal wastewater treatment and inappropriate fertiliser use and land management practices, continue to significantly harm water quality globally. Despite precariously balanced food and water security risks, the paper highlighted nations are largely unaware of their “phosphorus vulnerability” and phosphorus is markedly absent in national and global policies addressing food and water security.
The article describes the concept of ‘phosphorus vulnerability’ as the degree to which people/systems are susceptible to harm due to the physical, geopolitical and socio-economic dimensions of global phosphorus scarcity and pollution. The paper emphasizes the urgent need for integrated assessments considering environmental, socio-economic, and climate change risks. It advocates for reducing phosphorus waste, promoting recycling, and initiating system-wide transformations to enhance food and water security. This most recent crisis in fertiliser prices represents a wake-up call for the international community to embrace the global phosphorus challenge.
You can access the full paper here:
Brownlie, W.J., M.A., Sutton, D. Cordell, D.S. Reay, K.V. Heal, P.J. Withers, I. Vanderbeck, B.M. Spears. 2023. Phosphorus price spikes: A wake-up call for phosphorus resilience. Front. Sustain. Food Syst., 01 March 2023. Frontiers | Phosphorus price spikes: A wake-up call for phosphorus resilience (frontiersin.org)
