Wheat Prices, Monoculture And Fertilizer Requirements

"The use of monoculture by farmers led to degradation of the soil and lowered wheat output ("Wheat-Price Rally Signals Food Inflation," Banking & Markets, Nov. 5).

Monoculture, a consequence of the industrialization of farming, leads to the need for expensive fertilizers, mentioned in the article as a cause of rising wheat prices. Agroecological practices could be put in place to restore the soil and increase wheat outputs with smaller quantities of fertilizer. As droughts becomes worse because of climate change, we will continue to run into this problem, and plans are need to grow more drought-resistant crops." [1]

States are introducing taxes to combat global warming, including tariffs on fertilizers that are produced using fossil fuels. It is becoming more difficult to bring cheaper fertilizers from countries that pollute more freely. This raises the price of fertilizer. The question is whether or not this will break the backbone of industrial agriculture.

1. Wheat Prices, Monoculture And Fertilizer Requirements
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 19 Nov 2021: A.16.