Agreement on European fertilizer legislation

The European countries, the European Parliament and the European Commission reached an agreement on a new European fertilizer regulation on Tuesday 20 November. This makes it possible for organic and recycled fertilizers to be traded in Europe.

The purpose of this legislation is to stimulate the production of fertilizer products based on biodegradable waste, animal manure and other residual flows. In addition, the use of so-called biostimulants is also encouraged in the new legislation. 

European agreement
At the moment, the fertilizer legislation is still regulated per Member State. The new agreement concerns European legislation. This makes it possible to sell the mentioned fertilizers to other European countries without any problems. That is interesting, given the quantities of manure in the Netherlands.

Only 5% of organic waste is currently recycled into a fertilizer. According to the estimates used by the European Parliament, the increase in the use of organic waste will allow about 30% of fertilizers to be replaced. The Commission expects that (of the 6 million tons of phosphate rock imported each year) a reduction to 2 million tons of phosphate rock is feasible. 

An agreement has also been reached on the permitted amount of cadmium in phosphate fertilizers. The limit for cadmium in fertilizer is set at a maximum of 60 milligrams per kilo. There will also be a label for fertilizers containing little (less than 20 milligrams per kilo) of cadmium. 

Close cycle
MEP Jan Huitema (VVD) is pleased: "With the new law, the manure cycle is better closed. This means that valuable nutrients are not lost, we save energy, the CO₂emissions and we are less dependent on third countries."

According to Huitema, the legislation is a concrete step towards closing the cycles. "We are also reducing the cost price for the farmer. A wonderful win-win situation. As one of the negotiators I am proud that we have succeeded in reaching an agreement."

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

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