Brazil produces 40% of the global supply of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) through cultivation of an area of over 10 million hectares, projected to expand to 18.8 million hectares by 2050. Phosphorus (P) is a finite essential nutrient for agriculture that is rapidly depleting. Brazilian sugarcane cultivation requires substantial P fertilisation due to low P use efficiency as inorganic P interacts with soil mineralogy to form insoluble P compounds that are unavailable to crops, a phenomenon known as P-fixation. Inefficiency of P use in sugarcane cultivation requires the application of 20% of Brazil’s total consumption of inorganic P fertiliser to maintain yields. Quantifying the plant unavailable “legacy P” that remains after historical P-fixation of inorganic P fertiliser applications, combined with novel methods of increasing P use efficiency, has potential to alleviate the reliance on inorganic P fertilisers and substantially improve cost and sustainability of sugarcane production in Brazil. Value = £40,000