How will farmland be looked after by law?
To improve the quality of agricultural soil, the new law will establish the payment requirementswill define a plan of good agricultural practices yes limit the use of some fertilizers. It will also require each farmer to carry a digital “exploitation notebook”. in which it reflects the type and amount of input used.
the future law it is in line with the European Green Deal and its “Farm to Fork” strategy.‘, which recommends reducing the use of chemical fertilizers to encourage the regeneration of agricultural soils. And while her intentions are good, the industry regards her with suspicion. “It’s a royal decree that farmers don’t like, who see it as an interference by the public power in the freedom of business,” says Eduardo Moyano, a professor at the Superior Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).
This expert recalls that the new standard focuses on a very specific topic, that of agricultural fertilization, for this reason It does not affect the quality or health of the food at all.
Less productivity in the short term?
Even if in the medium and long term the law will have positive effects on these lands – many are over-fertilised with chemical fertilizers and need to be regenerated -, in the short term it will affect (for the worse) productivity. “A the reduction of fertilizers leads to a decrease in yields per hectareand that worries producers,” adds Moyano.
The agricultural professional organizations believe that the new standard also comes in an inopportune momentjust when the European Union needs to increase crops to cope with the shortage of grains due to the war in Ukraine.
“Obviously we are in favor of measures that benefit the environment and the use of technology, because the more progress we make, the better it is for everyone. But Proposals must be accessibleand right now the draft is very restrictive,” says Donaciano Dujo, president of ASAJA Castilla y León.
“There is not enough organic fertilizer”
This farmer from the Agricultural Association of Young Farmers argues that today fertilizers are essential to keep agricultural soil in good condition. “We have no problem using organic fertilizers, but there’s a problem: there isn’t one for everyone. Manure gives what it gives, and in some places it doesn’t get there”, he warns. In addition, the future law will prohibit fertilizing the land on certain dates. “Let’s not forget that agriculture depends a lot on weather conditions, and sometimes it is necessary to bring forward or delay the activity in the field,” he points out.
In his opinion, the law, full of “obstacles and bureaucracy”, will harm the development of agricultural activity. He mentions, for example, that, to update fertilizer usage in an electronic notebook, farmers, many of them elderly, lack digital skills. “They’ll need technical assistance, they’ve never worked with these technologies, and starting to handle these devices at their age takes a lot of effort,” he complains.
