Circular and organic-based fertilisers ready to scale up in Europe

The European Consortium of the Organic-Based Fertiliser Industry (ECOFI) welcomes  today’s High-Level Dialogue on securing a sustainable, competitive and fair EU  fertilisers system, and calls for concrete measures to enable the scale-up of circular  and organic-based fertilising products across Europe.

Represented by its President Nicolas Willaume, ECOFI emphasised that Europe has  significant nutrient resources within its borders, but their use is not optimised. The  key challenge is to enable the transformation of these resources into reliable, efficient  fertilising products and distribute them effectively across the EU to meet farmers’  needs.

Scaling domestic nutrient resources 

″Europe has nutrients – but it needs to make better use of them,″ said Nicolas Willaume. ″Our sector is ready to step up by turning domestic nutrient streams into  high-quality fertilising products that support farmers, strengthen resilience and  reduce dependency on external inputs.″ 

ECOFI highlighted that circular and organic-based fertilisers are already contributing  to more efficient nutrient use, helping farmers derive more value from every input  applied, while reducing losses to the environment. At the same time, they support  rural value chains, industrial competitiveness and contribute to more resilient and  lower-fossil fertiliser systems.

Unlocking investment and innovation 

To unlock this potential at scale, ECOFI underlined the need for a clear, predictable  and proportionate regulatory framework that enables market access and investment. In particular, ensuring effective implementation of the EU Fertilising Products Regulation, adapting animal by-products rules to fertiliser uses, and establishing  harmonised end-of-waste criteria at EU level, in line with the Waste Framework Directive, will be essential to create a functioning Single Market for circular fertilising  products.

ECOFI also emphasised the importance of enabling innovation through a workable,  criteria-based pathway for new and currently missing materials and processes under the Fertilising Products Regulation. Progress in this area, including in the context of  the ongoing Chemicals Omnibus VI trilogue discussions, will be key to unlocking new  solutions and supporting the scale-up of the sector.

Supporting farmers and uptake 

At the same time, ECOFI stressed that scaling supply must go hand in hand with  supporting demand. Farmers need predictable, reliable solutions and a stable  framework that allows them to plan, invest and remain competitive.

This includes promoting nutrient management approaches that enable farmers to  assess soil and crop needs, apply known and measurable nutrient quantities, and  demonstrate nutrient use in practice. At the same time, targeted policy and financial  incentives are needed to support the uptake of efficient, circular and organic-based  fertilising products, including through the Common Agricultural Policy.

Addressing immediate cost pressures for farmers is essential, and must go hand in  hand with correcting structural inefficiencies in Europe’s fertiliser system in the  medium term. The sector is ready to contribute with clear, practical solutions to  overcome existing barriers and accelerate the scale-up of nutrient-efficient fertilising  products.

The High-Level Dialogue confirmed strong interest across the value chain and EU  institutions in strengthening resilience, reducing dependencies and improving nutrient  efficiency. ECOFI welcomes the focus on developing Europe’s circular fertiliser sector  as part of this broader effort.

Looking ahead, ECOFI sees this first High-Level Dialogue as the beginning of a  structured process and stands ready to contribute actively to the development of the EU Fertiliser Action Plan.