Global fertiliser giant Yara has teamed up with Swedish farming co-operative Lantmännen to bring a range of fossil-free ‘green’ fertilisers to the market.
The fertilisers will be produced using energy from renewable resources, rather than fossil fuels, in a move the two companies believe will be crucial for decarbonising the food supply chain and offering consumers more sustainable choices.
Yara and Lantmännen began testing the commercial viability of green fertilisers in 2019, and following successful trials the two organisations will commercially produce and market green fertilisers in Sweden next year.
Yara said instead of using fossil fuels such as natural gas to produce ammonia – a key component of mineral fertilisers – the green fertilisers will be produced with ammonia based on renewable energy produced in Europe, such as hydropower in Norway.
It says the move will lower the carbon footprint of fertilisers by 80-90%.
Yara’s chief executive officer and president, Svein Tore Holsether, hailed the partnership with Lantmännen and said: “Our partnership with Lantmännen to bring green fertilisers to the market is crucial for decarbonising the food value chain.
“We have to transform the the food system to deliver on the Paris Agreement, and this will require collaboration across the entire food chain instead of working in silos; the Yara-Lantmännen partnership is a concrete example of how this can be done.”
Lantmännen group president and chief executive officer, Per Olof Nyman, said the co-operative planned to use the green fertiliser as part of its Climate and Nature cultivation programme.
The programme, which aims to make sustainable farming practices a profitable option for farmers, has helped growers cut the carbon footprint of wheat cultivation by up to 30% since 2015.
Mr Nyman says the introduction of green fertilisers to these farms could reduce the carbon footprint of growing wheat by a further 20%.
He added: “With the green fertilisers from Yara in place we enable Swedish farmers to continue to be at the forefront, offering our customers sustainability performance according to global climate targets as well as bringing sustainable food to consumers.”