In the report “Impact Assessment of EC 2030 Green Deal Targets for Sustainable Crop Production,” Wageningen University and Research analysed the impact of the European Commission’s 2030 targets on EU agricultural production. Authors concluded that achieving the Farm to Fork targets on reducing pesticides and fertilizers, while increasing set-aside land and organic area will mean lower output,
shifting farm production to non-EU countries, as well as cutting European farm incomes. Following the results of the study, Fertilizers Europe together with the Agri-Food Chain Coalition (the association representing 11 leading associations in the agri-food sector in Brussels) urged the European Commission to conduct a holistic impact assessment and policy measures that support innovation and do not jeopardise EU producers, obliging them to outsource to countries with less stringent environmental regulations.
In December 2021, the European Commission published the Sustainable Carbon Cycles Communication, underlining the crucial role played by agriculture and soil management to reach the European climate objectives. In view of the upcoming discussions, Fertilizers Europe shed light on the role of fertilizers in carbon farming, commissioning a study to a research group of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, led by Professor Holger Kirchmann. The study focused on the principles of carbon sequestration, the role of farming practices and the use of fertilizers in helping to sequester carbon in agricultural soils.
On 16 July 2022, the EU Fertilizing Products Regulation (FPR) enters into force, overhauling current rules for placing fertilizing products on the EU market. However, several practical and technical aspects were still presenting challenges for the fertilizer industry in the last phase of the implementation, including the prevailing lack of notified bodies, unclear interpretation of some sections of the FPR, lack of harmonized standards and uncertainty about conformity assessment procedures. That is why Fertilizers Europe, focused its efforts during 2021 and early 2022 on supporting its members to be ready for the entry into application of the regulation. Several workshops were organised for Fertilizers Europe members which saw the participation of the European Commission and Notified Bodies representatives and aimed at finding common solutions for the outstanding issues.
