§ LORD HEMINGFORDMy Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Bledisloe, who has been unavoidably called away, I formally ask the three questions which stand in his name on the Paper.
§ [The questions were as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in their judgment, the cultivated land of Great Britain is suffering from serious phosphate deficiency, or is likely to be so suffering in 1945; whether farm crops (including grass and clover) are being affected adversely by a lack of balance in the application of chemical fertilizers; and whether, in view of the increased availability of phosphate rock from North Africa and Florida, for the manufacture of superphosphate, additional supplies of the latter can, in the early future, be made available to farmers, market gardeners and allotment-holders.
§ To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in their judgment, the present supplies of approximately 550,000 tons annually of basic slag are adequate for Great Britain's present and estimated post-war requirements; whether now, or, if not now, how soon, this fertilizer can be applied to phosphate-starved unploughable pasture; whether the restriction of its output is due to lack of grinding mills in British steel works; and whether, and to what extent, subsidies are granted to steel manufacturers in order to obviate possible financial loss in this branch of their business.
§ To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in the absence of supplies of phosphate rock from Nauru and Ocean Island, now in Japanese hands, Australia and New Zealand are at present in urgent need of phosphatic fertilizers; whether official requests have been made from these Dominions to His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom for the means of their transport from other sources of supply; and if so, whether there is a prospect of compliance with these requests, with a view to satisfying their own economic necessities and to 247 their making their maximum contribution to the world's food supply in face of the prospective clamant needs of the war-stricken areas of Europe.]
THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES (THE DUKE OF NORFOLK)My Lords, it is the view of His Majesty's Government that broadly speaking the cultivated land of Great Britain is not suffering from serious phosphate deficiency, though it is recognized that supplies of phosphates are insufficient to permit of optimal dressings. There are, however, in Great Britain some definite areas that are markedly phosphate deficient; special provision for these areas has been made in the war-time distribution of phosphatic fertilizers. Farmers whose farms are composed wholly or partially of such areas may obtain extra supplies of phosphates to meet this deficiency and are able to use this extra allowance in accordance with the advice of soil chemists thoroughly acquainted with the fertilizer needs of these special areas. Market gardeners and allotment holders should have no difficulty in obtaining reasonable supplies of the chemical fertilizers they require.
With regard to my noble friend's second question it is inadvisable to deal too specifically with the actual quantities of fertilizers that are available and I will only say in this connection that the figure quoted in the question is rather an underestimate of our supplies. Practically the whole of the basic slag that is suitable for grinding is being utilised as fertilizer. Production is subsidized to the extent that producers are guaranteed against loss due to any increase in the cost of grinding or of bags; the cost of this subsidy now amounts to about £65,000 per annum. If more basic slag of reasonable quality were available it could be made use of for both present and post-war requirements. Production cannot, however, be further increased except by the grinding of low-grade slags, which would not justify the employment in present circumstances of the material and labour required for the provision of the grinding plant and for its operation. The release of basic slag for use on phosphate-starved grassland depends on increased supplies of other forms of phosphatic fertilizer, for which basic slag can be used as a substitute in times of shortage, but it is 248 hoped that supplies of phosphatic fertilizers generally in 1943–44 will be sufficient to enable my Department to allow a limited quantity of basic slag to be applied to phosphate deficient grassland that is primarily used for milk production. I am not in a position to say anything more definite at present.
As regards my noble friend's third question the absence of supplies of phosphate rock from Nauru and Ocean Island, whence Australia and New Zealand in normal times drew almost the whole of their requirements, has inevitably resulted in a decreased application of phosphatic fertilizers in these Dominions. Every effort is made to supply essential requirements from other sources, tout the extent to which this is possible is of course limited by the amount of shipping that can be made available, having regard to other high priority demands. Nevertheless, during the present year it has been found possible to ship all available supplies from Makatea and the total amount allocated to Australia and New Zealand by the Combined Food Board from the Red Sea area. I can assure my noble friend that His Majesty's Government are fully alive to the importance of the supplies of phosphates that are required to enable Australia and New Zealand to maintain or to increase production of essential food stuffs so urgently needed for military and civilian consumption locally and in this country and elsewhere. The whole question has therefore been kept constantly under review by the Combined Food Board and by His Majesty's Government in consultation with the Australian and New Zealand authorities, and is at present receiving consideration in relation particularly to the possibility of effecting increased shipments of supplies which are becoming available from Florida and North Africa.