Over 97,000 declarations have been made on the National Fertiliser Database, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The database became fully operational at the end of last July, following the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertiliser Regulations 2023 Act being signed into law.
Since September 1, it is compulsory for farmers and other professional fertiliser end-users to be registered on the database to purchase fertiliser (including lime).
This means that it is an offence to sell or purchase fertiliser without being registered.
Fertiliser database
The department of agriculture told Agriland that as of January 10, 118,995 farmers had registered as a professional fertiliser end user (PFEU) on the database.
Farmers had until October 14 to declare closing fertiliser stocks on their farm as of midnight on September 14. DAFM said that declarations currently stand at 97,382.
It is also mandatory for fertiliser economic operators or professional fertiliser end use to notify the department about the importation of fertiliser.
Since September 1, 168 import notifications relating to the import of 165,751 tonnes of fertilisers have been received by the department.
“In terms of compliance, any fertiliser economic operator or professional fertiliser end user that has not, as yet, made a return on the National Fertiliser Database can continue to register and make a closing stock declaration,” a DAFM spokesperson said.
“The department will continue to actively work with stakeholders to ensure compliance with the new fertiliser legislation.
“The department has not been made aware of any complaints regarding the sale of fertiliser since the introduction of the National Fertiliser Database,” the spokesperson added.
DAFM previously confirmed that total fertiliser sales in 2023 fell by 18% to 1,135,860 tonnes compared to 2022. This marks a 33% reduction in fertiliser sales since 2021.
Nitrogen (N) sales dropped by 18% to 280,569 tonnes which is a 30% decrease since 2021.
The Climate Action Plan calls for a reduction in nitrogen sales to 300,000 tonnes to 2030 relative to 2018 with an interim target of 330,000 tonnes by 2025.