Russian war worsens fertilizer crunch, risking food supplies (AP News)

AP News reported that although Kenya is thousands of miles from Ukraine and Russia, Kenya is dependent on the fertilizer and fertilizer ingredients that come from the two countries at war. One Kenyan farmer said, “I cannot continue with the farming business. I am quitting farming to try something else.” The farmer used to spend 20,000 Kenyan shillings, or about $175, to fertilize her entire farm. Now, she would need to spend five times as much. Continuing to work the land, she said, would yield nothing but losses. Senior research fellow David Laborde said, “The conflict also has driven up the already-exorbitant price of natural gas, used to make nitrogen fertilizer. The result: European energy prices so high that some fertilizer companies “have closed their businesses and stopped operating their plants.” He added, “There’s no easy answer to the double whammy of higher fertilizer prices and limited supplies.” The next 12 to 18 months “will be difficult.” Republished in Washington Post, US News, NPR, DRG News, CTV News (Canada), SantaFe, NewMexican.com, WWNY TV.