The European Commission is proposing to increase the amount of processed manure which farmers can use under the Nitrates Directive.
The commission said that since the Nitrates Directive was adopted in 1991 there has been scientific and technical advances in manure processing techniques.
The EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre has found that under certain conditions recovered nitrogen from manure, known as RENURE fertilisers, have a similar N leaching potential and agronomic efficiency to chemical fertilisers.
The commission said that these type of fertilisers reduce the risks of nitrate losses in water compared to manure and due to this could be used above the current limit for manure application.
The commission added that the use of manure and processed manure could reduce farmers’ exposure to volatile mineral fertiliser prices.
“Broader application of organic fertilisers and nutrients from recycled waste streams could strengthen the union’s open strategic autonomy and food security while setting out high sustainability standards, in particular in regions with a low uptake of organic fertilisers,” it added.
Nitrates Directive
In 2023, the Commission launched an evaluation of the Nitrates Directive to assess if it sufficiently promotes the recycling of nutrients from various sources, including processed manure.
It is also examining if the current directive supports technological developments in manure processing technologies resulting in RENURE fertilisers.
Under the 1991 Nitrates Directive, the amount of livestock manure or processed manure applied to land in “vulnerable areas” of the EU each year, including by animals themselves, cannot not exceed 170kg nitrogen (N)/ha each year.
Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands currently have derogations in place to exceed that limit, however this is set to come to an end in Denmark and the Netherlands.
The Irish derogation will again be subject to review by the European Commission in 2025.
Until the evaluation of overall Nitrates Directive is finalised, the commission has said that it is necessary to provide an interim solution for member states to authorise farmers to use RENURE fertilisers above the current limits, under certain conditions.
A public consultation on the proposed change, which can be accessed here, will remain open until May 17, 2024.
Processed manure
Copa Cogeca, the umbrella group of EU farm organisations including the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), has welcomed the draft proposal, calling it “a new concrete and strategic move”.
“The need to reduce the dependency on nitrogen fertilisers by diversifying the sources of fertilisers and developing the supply of sustainable fertilisers has gained urgency following Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“Using fossil-free, low-carbon, recycled nutrients to produce organic fertilisers will also accelerate the decarbonization pathway to a net-zero EU,” it said in a post on social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).
Copa Cogeca said that to date RENURE products have faced “a major barrier” in the 32-year-old Nitrates Directive.
“The market of these sustainable fertilisers struggles to develop due to a lack of legal certainty,” it said.
Copa Cogeca has called on the EU Commission to make a similar proposal regarding digestates, which it said would create synergies with the renewable energy sector and reduce EU dependency on imports of gas and fertilisers.