The European Commission has formally adopted a new action plan on fertilisers. It said its aim was to help farmers address the challenges of rising fertiliser costs. 

The World Bank said recently that it expects fertiliser prices to increase by more than 30% this year. Production and transportation of fertilisers have been severely affected by the conflict in the Middle East and the war between Ukraine and Russia. 

In the new action plan, the Commission has said it will help farmers cope with scarcity and high prices. It will also reinforce domestic production and reduce Europe's dependency on imports. 

Commissioner for agriculture and food, Christophe Hansen (pictured), said policies to boost domestic production of fertilisers would include measures to “unlock the potential for the development of biobased fertilisers”. 

A senior official at the Commission, Michael Losch, spoke about the action plan at a meeting of a group called the Sustainable Livestock Intergroup in Strasbourg on May 21. The main topic of discussion at the meeting was to explore the ways in which leather and wool make positive contributions to the environment.  

Mr Losch said he thought the use of animal-based by-products in biobased fertilisers should be part of the Commission’s circular economy strategy.