As the Fertiliser Crisis Bites, European Farmers Take Drastic Steps

A French farmer harvests his field of maize in Thun-L'Eveque, France, September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Megan Durisin and Elina Ganatra

Ditching oilseed crops for peas, preparing to cut herds and splashing out on tractor gadgets. That's what European farmers are doing to try to cope with a worsening fertiliser crisis.

The lengths they're going to in order to apply less of the nutrients vital for growing staples like wheat and rapeseed highlights the continued threat the crunch poses to food output. Many of Europe's fertiliser plants have closed as Russia's war in Ukraine squeezes supplies of gas that nitrogen fertilizer is derived from.