Fertiliser and pesticide use have complex interdependencies with positive and negative impacts on food security across the EU, the European Commission has said.
A higher fertiliser use in some crops results in a greening of the plant that can attract pests, in turn demanding higher pesticide use.
Conversely, nutrient deficiencies lower the general resilience of the plant which may affect the impacts under varying levels of pest or disease pressure.
Pesticide use also affects soil symbionts which support nutrient uptake and in turn lowers the efficacy of fertilisation, an EU document on the drivers of food security shows.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles could minimise the negative effects of pesticides on food security while ensuring that their positive function is not put at risk.
A total of 346,000t of pesticides were used in the EU in 2020, according to the European Commission.
Pesticide use
Moving away from pesticide-centric food systems would support ecosystem services which may promote yields and resilience, while supporting yield stability through targeted applications.
The transition towards using less pesticides based on IPM principles, however would still provide for pesticide use as an emergency tool against severe pest and disease outbreaks, the commission said.
While losses due to pests and diseases are considerably lower in the EU than globally, minimising these losses could solve part of the supply constraints to feed the world.
However, some unintended consequences of pesticide use have direct impacts on farming activities, which may lead to negative impacts on food security in the mid-to-long term.
Adverse effects of pesticides on biodiversity may reduce the natural pest control, pollination, and nutrient uptake which in turn leads to an elevated need for pesticides to manage plant health.
While higher transport and energy costs due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine have resulted in a modest increase of pesticides prices in the EU, they have been affected to a considerably lesser extent than fertilisers.
Energy costs and fertiliser use
While the share of energy inputs in the production of agricultural commodities can vary considerably across regions, higher energy prices inevitably imply higher production costs, including fertiliser prices.
The EU is largely dependent on imports of mineral fertilisers, importing about 30%, 68% and 85% of its consumption of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), respectively.
Russia and Belarus are the largest exporters of K fertilisers from which the EU is largely dependent, and Russia is also one of the largest exporters of P fertilisers, the commission said.
Fertiliser companies have reduced their production due to high prices of natural gas, of which large quantities are needed to produce N fertilisers. Natural gas amounts to 70-80% of fertiliser production costs.
The EU warns that this leads to further shortages and price increases resulting in farmers using lower quantities, which risks lower crop yields and could impact on food availability and access.
If gas prices stabilise at the current very high levels, producing N fertilisers with imported gas may require subsidising either fertiliser or gas buyers, the commission said.
Consequently, the EU risks becoming even more dependent on imported fertilisers with the ensuing risks for food security.
However, if high energy prices lead to a reduction and more efficient use of energy, this may have positive effects on the food security drivers climate change, and environmental pollution an degradation.