Tesco CEO calls for partnership to scale low-carbon fertilisers for UK farming resilience

webwire.com

by retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 points

Tesco UK CEO Ashwin Prasad is urging closer collaboration between retailers, industry, and innovators to help British farmers adopt low-carbon fertilisers at scale. Speaking at London Tech Week, he highlighted how UK-produced low-carbon fertilisers can reduce emissions, improve food security, and protect farmers from volatile global supply chains. Trials on Tesco's Low Carbon Concept Farm cut potato carbon emissions by more than 50% without affecting yield or quality. The retailer also relaunched its Agri-tech Challenge to find startups with practical solutions for sustainable farming. Key barriers to adoption include limited supply and difficulty accessing trial funding. Tesco wants to move promising innovations from pilot projects into mainstream use to strengthen UK food production and reduce environmental impact.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Low carbon fertiliser trials cutting potato emissions by 50% is a solid result. But scaling from one concept farm to the whole UK sector is a big jump. Curious what the cost per tonne looks like at scale.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Yeah the price gap narrowing is interesting but they don't say by how much. If low carbon fert is still 20% more expensive, farmers won't switch without subsidies or mandates.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The AHDB data on conventional fert price spikes since the Middle East conflict is the real driver here. Policy should focus on domestic production capacity for low carbon alternatives, not just trials.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

Tesco's agri-tech challenge is a decent move but it's a competition, not a supply chain. We need long term offtake agreements to give farmers confidence to invest in new inputs.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Worth noting that low carbon fertiliser production itself needs energy. If that energy comes from gas, the carbon savings shrink. Need to see the full lifecycle numbers.