Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has drawn the ire of farmers and farmers' organizations in the country. If it is up to him, the sector should cut the use of nitrogen fertilizers by 30% in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is hitting the sector badly, especially now that the costs of fertilizer have gone through the roof.
Prime Minister Trudeau's plans are not new. In December 2020, his government published a climate plan for Canada. One of the spearheads is reducing nitrogen emissions from fertilizer by 30%. This reduction must be achieved by 2030, compared to the emission level in 2020. The fertilizer industry in the country and the farming community have themselves translated this statement into a 30% reduction in the use of nitrogen fertilizer. It has still not revealed how the Trudeau government plans to achieve this reduction.
Plan again on the table
The fire flared at the end of July when the Prime Minister returned to the 'nitrogen ban', as the proposal is also called. This not only displeases farmers and the fertilizer sector, local governments in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, among others, have also made themselves heard. Agriculture ministers there say they are deeply disappointed in Trudeau's plans.
Opponents cite recent events in Sri Lanka, where a huge food shortage was created after farmers in the country were obliged to farm organically. Failing government policy in that country caused angry citizens to take to the streets. Reference is also made in Canada to the Dutch farmers' protests. That is not surprising with more than a million Dutch people and people with Dutch roots in the country. Protests have now also been held in Canada, especially in the city of Ottawa.
The reasons for these protests are diverse. It is about showing support for family in the Netherlands, protesting against the fertilizer ban, but also the Covid situation, for example, is a reason.
$48 billion less revenue?
It is mainly Fertilizer Canada – the umbrella organization of the fertilizer industry in the country – that is taking action against government policy. In a simple one calculation they report that a 30% reduction in fertilizer use will cost the agricultural sector $48 billion (€36,52 billion) Canadian dollars over eight years. A decrease in the use of nitrogen fertilizer has a direct impact on yields. By the way, not everyone is like that agree.
A lot has happened worldwide since the plan was presented in December. Not only farmer protests, but also the war in Ukraine has an impact on the situation. Shortly after the Russian invasion, Canada decided to tax Russian goods at 35%. This also includes nitrogen fertilizer. The direct impact of this measure is great. Eastern Canada imports about 660.000 tons of nitrogen from Russia every year. Good for 85% to 90% of the total need in that part of the country. When the import tax was introduced at the beginning of March, two-thirds of the fertilizer still had to be imported. Farmers have had to pay this higher price, on top of the already high costs for fertilizer.
More own production
The agricultural sector sees the solution in increasing nitrogen production in its own country. Something that is technically possible because Canada can extract sufficient gas. The Ministry of Agriculture says it will release money for innovation and finding alternatives. That does not immediately mean more fertilizer production. For example, the Canadian Ministry of Agriculture and the government are more interested in a switch to organic agriculture, for which money is also being made available. A total of $500 million (€380 million) has been made available for this 'Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership'.
For the agricultural sector, this proposal adds fuel to the fire and is a source of new protest actions. Farmers would much rather see emissions ambitions toned down. The chance of this happening is not high, but it is there. At the end of July, the Ministry of the Environment spoke about it Delay or scaling down emission reduction levels for the country's oil and gas industry. What the new goals will be has not been announced. For the time being, Trudeau is sticking to a 40% to 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which is the same as the Paris climate agreement.