Little Government support for phasing out controversial synthetic nitrate fertiliser
Tuesday, 10 May 2022
Most of the Government’s environment committee oppose a bid to end controversial synthetic nitrate fertiliser use by 2024, but Green Party representatives are still backing further action.
In January last year, Greenpeace delivered a petition signed by more than 33,000 people to the Government, asking it to phase out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.
The Environment Select Committee, which has members from four parties, has now finished its report back to Parliament on the petition.
Greenpeace says use could be stopped by 2024, but the Government needs to provide support and infrastructure to help farmers transition to regenerative practices.
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About 90% of the synthetic nitrate fertilisers used in New Zealand, which are added to soil to boost plant growth, are used by livestock farming nationwide.
The select committee’s report said dairy had been the main driver behind increased use over the past 30 years. In 2009, 218,000 tonnes was used, compared with 343,000 tonnes in 2020 – a 57% increase in a decade.
But not all nitrogen was taken up by plants – some travelled underground and polluted aquifers and rivers. Grazing animals also ended up excreting some through their urine.
Nitrates could have serious impacts on freshwater health, with excess nitrate-nitrogen in water toxic to aquatic life, and contributing to algal blooms.
There was also a growing body of evidence that high nitrate levels in drinking water could have adverse effects on human health, including links with bowel cancer and premature births.
The committee heard from Greenpeace, the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Fertiliser Association, Federated Farmers, and independent experts – but was unable to reach a consensus.
Last year, the Government capped synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use for farms over 20 hectares at 190 kilograms per hectare per year.
The plan would be reviewed in 2023, to see whether it was set at the right level, and most in the committee agreed that would let the Government evaluate the petition’s concern, but the Green Party raised strong opposition.
Environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage wrote the “current overuse of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser enables farming beyond environmental limits, causes environmental degradation, and contributes to greenhouse emissions”.
“Farming can occur without its use,” she said.
“We need to progressively phase out synthetic nitrogen use to encourage a shift to regenerative agriculture and use of natural nitrogen-fixers such as clover and legumes, once widespread in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
The Green Party wanted further ideas considered in the 2023 review.
That could include a four-month “close down” period in autumn and winter, requiring councils to identify nitrate vulnerability zones, turning the new limit into a sinking cap to phase it out, or a sales levy – with money going towards management improvements.
The most recent state of the environment report showed between 1999 and 2018, nutrient variables “likely” or “very likely” worsened at 27% to 49% monitored river sites, and from 2014 to 2018, 19% failed to meet drinking water standards on at least one occasion.
“The Green Party believes measures to reduce urgently and then phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser are required,” Sage said.
Greenpeace senior campaigner Steve Abel said it was disappointing that the same week the Government released its emissions reduction plan, the Environment Select Committee “kicks the can on phasing out of the synthetic nitrogen fertiliser”.
It would be a great way to both cut emissions from intensive dairy, and stop contaminating drinking water with nitrates, he said.
“We are seeing worsening nitrate levels in Canterbury and Southland and Waikato bores – many above the existing drinking water standards.
“We are now looking to ministers Parker and Kiritapu Allen to uphold the basic human right of safe drinking water for all by phasing out the synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, as part of their action on protecting sources of drinking water.”
In its submission, MfE said nitrogen fertiliser contributed to a range of environmental issues, but it did not support phasing it out by 2024.
It cited potentially disruptive impacts for potentially modest environment benefits, and said recent caps had not been given a chance to have an effect.
MPI said more research was needed into the environmental benefits and social and economic consequences of a phase-out.
Both believed a shrinking cap on nitrogenwould affect farmers and increase food costs.
MfE said over 80% of the nitrates moving through the soil came from animal urine, but less than 5% was directly attributable to fertilisers – although they did enable higher stock numbers.
Both agreed along with intensive winter grazing, stock exclusion, and intensification regulations, capping nitrogen use had the potential to make “significant improvements” to nitrate levels.
The Fertiliser Association said the proposed ban would be “economically catastrophic”, causing a $20 billion drop in output – although the ministries said this figure may be overstated.
The current cap was “very precautionary” already, the association said, but it did acknowledge there was room for improvement.
The association said the industry had taken a range of actions to improve nutrient management, like giving farmers and growers more environmental guidance, investing in research and development, and improving products – including adding inhibitors that could stop leaching.
Farmers would likely compensate by giving extra feed, so the total amount of nitrogen in the system might not change, it said.
The report noted synthetic nitrate fertilisers were seen as cost-effective, reliable, and cheaper than buying supplementary feed.
Federated Farmers also opposed the proposed ban, and did not consider synthetic nitrogen to be the direct cause of the environmental issues raised by Greenpeace.
It also suggested – despite increases in stock numbers and fertiliser use – nitrate loss from farms had increased only a little over recent decades.
Federated Farmers said the cost of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser was increasingly high, which already encouraged careful use.