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A New Dilemma: Food vs Cars
Context:
The diversion of phosphoric acid, a vital ingredient in fertilisers, for use in electric vehicle battery production could pose a significant concern for Indian agriculture, which relies heavily on imported nutrients.
Food vs. Fuel and the Looming Food vs. Cars Dilemma:
- The “Food vs. Fuel” dilemma revolves around diverting food crops like maize, sugarcane, and soybeans for biofuel production, reducing food availability.
- The “Food vs. Cars” dilemma arises from phosphoric acid, essential for fertilisers like DAP, being increasingly used in lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), creating competition between agriculture and EV production.
Key Ethical Dilemmas:
- Food vs. Cars: The diversion of phosphoric acid for EV batteries could compromise agricultural fertiliser supply, affecting crop yields and food security.
- Resource Allocation: A conflict exists between using phosphoric acid for crop growth (to ensure global food security) and for EV batteries (to promote clean energy and reduce carbon emissions), making it difficult to prioritise one over the other.
- Global Dependency: India’s heavy reliance on imported phosphate raises ethical concerns about global resource distribution, especially as the demand for EV batteries grows.
- Sustainability vs. Development: The challenge lies in balancing the need for sustainable energy through EV production and ensuring food security through sufficient fertiliser availability.
- Economic Inequality: Rising fertiliser costs due to resource diversion toward the EV industry could disproportionately harm small-scale farmers, especially in countries like India, deepening economic disparities.
Implications for India:
- India’s high dependence on phosphate imports makes it vulnerable to global market shifts.
- The reduction in DAP supply due to Chinese export restrictions and increased demand for LFP batteries may lead to lower crop yields.
- Farmers may switch to using fertilisers with lower phosphorus content, impacting agricultural productivity, especially during the rabi season.
Way Forward for India:
- Impact on Rabi Crop Season: Reduced DAP imports may affect rabi season crops like mustard, potato, chana (chickpea), and wheat, as this fertiliser is crucial for root establishment at sowing.
- Decline in DAP Sales: DAP sales fell 20.5% during the 2024 kharif season, partially offset by a 29.5% rise in sales of complex fertilisers with lower phosphorus content, a trend likely to continue in the rabi season.
- Government Policy and Price Controls: Government policy has fixed the maximum retail price (MRP) of DAP at Rs 27,000 per tonne, only slightly higher than alternatives, which exacerbates the decline in DAP usage.
- Fertiliser Companies’ Shift to Alternatives: Fertiliser companies are incurring losses on DAP imports due to rising costs, leading them to focus on selling complex fertilisers and single super phosphate with lower phosphorus content.