since the invasion and maybe before that, we've got the increasing gas prices and also the

fertilizer problem that's meant fertiliser has gone up 400%. So that, coupled with the Ukraine and

Russia crisis, is having a massive effect on the production of grain all over the world.

That was the Lincolnshire farmer Andrew Ward talking to GP News earlier this year

about the impact that the Russian invasion has had on the farming industry.

I'm Kate Andrews, the Spectator's Economics Editor, and welcome to a special episode of

The Spectators' podcast.

As minds focus on energy security and global supply chains in the wake of the war, and before

that the pandemic, one supply chain that you might not think about often has had a crucial

impact on the cost of living crisis in the UK, fertilizers.

Climate change, along with pressures caused by the conflict in Ukraine, have left many nations

vulnerable to food insecurity.

For the Russia-Ukraine conflict, South African farmers were already having to grapple with

higher input costs.

Fuel prices have been steadily rising and a week around before the conflict ensued

made the importation of raw materials like fertilizers more expensive.

During peacetime, Russia and Ukraine met about 28% of the world's demand for

fertilizer. A big problem now. How do we solve it? One company in Swindon is trying to revolutionize

the British fertilizer market. They say they can make high efficiency and low-polluting fertilizer

from organic waste gathered from British farms,

creating a completely self-sufficient production line.

For their cutting-edge science, CCM technologies won the Spectators' Innovator of the Year awards last year, beating dozens of Britain's most brilliant startups.

...