Saskatchewan farmers, Conservative MPs decry fertilizer emissions proposal

Ottawa says its plan is not to establish a mandatory reduction in fertilizer use, but instead improve efficiency. Critics say prairie farming is already there.

Saskatchewan agricultural stakeholders joined several Conservative MPs to discuss Ottawa’s proposal to reduce fertilizer emissions Thursday, telling reporters the policy is destined to reduce farm yields, threaten farm sustainability and hurt consumers in the process.

“It’s going to have a devastating impact to Canadian farm families and their ability to produce food. There will be a massive reduction in yield,”  said Foothills MP John Barlow.

The proposal to help lower Canadian GHG levels by slashing nitrogen fertilizer application emissions by 30 per cent was first mentioned as part of the “A Healthy Environment and Healthy Economy” plan in 2020.

“That will make farming economically unsustainable in Canada. That is going to increase food costs as a result of lower yield,” Barlow said.

“Farmers across Canada have done everything they can to be as efficient and environmentally sustainable as possible. But reducing fertilizer use will force them to go back to tilling, using other chemicals and do more passes on their land which increases emissions.”

The fertilizer emissions proposal is part of Canada’s larger plan to curb human-caused carbon emissions 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated to keep global warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, net human caused emissions of CO2 will need to fall 45 per cent below 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net-zero around 2050 around the globe.

Noting nitrous oxide, has a “global warming potential” 265 to 298 times greater than carbon dioxide, the federal government has stated goals of reducing emissions from synthetic fertilizers by approximately 4Mt of CO2e by the end of the decade  — equal to approximately half a per cent of Canada’s overall CO2 emissions according to government figures.