Fertilisers from livestock manure could be key to reducing costs and increasing independence from non-EU countries, according to EU27 agriculture ministers and the European Commission.
Read the original French article here.
At their monthly gathering on Monday (17 October), bloc ministers discussed the use of bio-based fertilisers and nitrogen obtained through the treatment and transformation of animal manure following a request made by Belgium, backed by Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
The process, known as REcovered Nitrogen from manURE (RENURE), “would be a way of increasing self-sufficiency in terms of fertiliser availability” and contribute to the “circular economy,” said Belgium’s agriculture minister David Clarinval.
For several months now, farmers across the bloc have been hit hard by the explosion in input prices, especially since Russia and Belarus used to supply 60% of fertilisers used in the EU, data from the industry association Fertilizers Europe reads.
But a solution may be closer to home than expected.
“RENURE products are a complete substitute for chemical fertilisers. They can make food systems resilient because they depend on locally available resources,” said Dutch minister Guido Landheer, whose country is particularly affected by rising prices.
The effect of animal manure-based fertilisers is like that of chemical fertilisers, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre recently found. According to experts, they can also be used without causing environmental damage.
Nitrate Directive in the spotlight
But manure-based fertilisers face an obstacle: the 1991 Nitrates Directive.
According to the directive, the use of such fertilisers is restricted to reduce nitrate-related water pollution. Spreading more than 170kg of animal nitrogen per hectare per year on fields in vulnerable areas is prohibited.
For member states to go beyond the 170kg threshold – as is the case for the Netherlands since 2020 – Belgium has been asking for months that manure-made fertilisers be defined as chemical effluents, and no longer as livestock effluents as this puts them within the directive’s scope.
“We urge the European Commission to make the necessary legislative proposals so that RENURE fertilisers can be used outside the limited quantities of livestock manure in vulnerable areas,” the document Belgium sent to the European Commission ahead of the Council reads.
Commission approves
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski recalled that these limitations only concerned risk areas and that there was, therefore “no limit to the use of RENURE in 30% of the European Union’s agricultural areas.”
“This is already a considerable replacement potential,” he added.
The Commission recognises that these fertilisers can “play a key role” in helping farmers reduce their dependence on imports and their exposure to price fluctuations.
Reducing the use of artificial chemical fertilisers is also part of the European Commission’s flagship Farm to Fork strategy, which foresees a 20% reduction in fertiliser use by 2030.
As requested by the Belgian delegation, the EU executive will thus include the subject of bio-based fertilisers in its next communication on fertilisers, scheduled for 9 November. “Regulatory” and “non-regulatory” proposals to promote their use will be explored in the coming weeks.
But Wojciechowski also insisted on the need to maintain “strict conditions of use”, in particular, to avoid ammonia emissions into the atmosphere. “In this area, any request for an exception must be justified, to avoid undermining compliance with air and soil quality legislation,” he warned.
However, since complying with the Nitrates Directive is also a pre-condition for farmers to obtain funds from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), it is likely lawmakers will review such conditions.
Source: Euractiv.com
Leave a comment