Tesco has called for greater collaboration across the food and farming sectors to help scale the use of low-carbon fertilisers and low-carbon faming practices, warning that barriers to adoption risk slowing progress towards a more resilient and secure UK food system.
Speaking at London Tech Week this week, Tesco UK CEO Ashwin Prasad said innovation will be essential to helping farmers respond to supply chain disruption, improve productivity and reduce emissions – but added that promising technologies often struggle to move beyond pilot projects.
The retailer highlighted low-carbon fertilisers as one area with significant potential to support British agriculture while reducing reliance on volatile global supply chains.
Recent disruption and price increases in international fertiliser markets have increased pressure on producers and added uncertainty for farm businesses. Tesco argues that domestically produced low-carbon alternatives could provide greater price stability while helping reduce the environmental impact of food production.
Although low-carbon fertilisers can deliver comparable yields to conventional products, Tesco said many farmers continue to face practical barriers to adoption, including limited availability and restricted access to funding for trials and implementation.
The retailer pointed to results from its Low Carbon Concept Farm in Lincolnshire as evidence of the opportunity. Trials carried out with potato supplier Branston combined low-carbon growing methods with techniques that lock in CO₂ during production, resulting in a reported 50% reduction in carbon emissions without affecting yield or crop quality.
Around 500 tonnes of potatoes produced through the programme went on sale in Tesco stores earlier this year.
Prasad said Tesco wants to help create the conditions needed to move innovations from small-scale testing into mainstream agricultural use.
“We want to support our British farmers in rolling out innovation – it can help increase economic growth, build resilience and improve efficiencies on farm,” he said.
Alongside the call for industry collaboration, Tesco has relaunched its global Tesco Agri-tech Challenge, inviting start-ups and innovators to submit solutions aimed at improving sustainability, resilience and productivity on farms. Applications are open until 3 July, with winners offered the opportunity to trial solutions with Tesco supplier partners and receive a year’s Agri-TechE membership.
[image credit: Green Retail World]
