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Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy
Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

  • Publication | 2026
The Iran war and the fertiliser crisis: What Europe and Africa can do
Global Food and Nutrition Security

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent shockwaves across the energy and food markets of the EU, Africa and Asia. Nitrogen fertilisers are particularly hard hit: the Gulf region exports both fertilisers and the natural gas used to produce fertilisers elsewhere. This may be a crisis in the making – one that will hit some more than others.

Fertiliser and natural gas prices have shot up and may stay high for a while. This will affect many, though unevenly. European fertiliser producers feel the higher gas prices; Indian factories are lowering production; and African farmers will probably apply even less fertiliser than they normally do.