EBIC Welcomes EU Fertiliser Action Plan but Calls for Greater Ambition on Nutrient Use Efficiency and Innovation
May 2026
EBIC welcomes the release of the European Commission’s new Fertiliser Action Plan, announced this week by Commissioner Hansen, as an important step towards strengthening Europe’s agricultural resilience, competitiveness and food security.
The Action Plan reflects an important evolution in Europe’s fertiliser debate, shifting from simply securing nutrient supply towards improving how nutrients are used in practice. The stronger focus on nutrient use efficiency, nutrient management and farmer resilience is a positive and necessary development at a time when European farmers continue to face high input costs, market volatility and increasing climate pressures.
EBIC particularly welcomes the recognition of innovative solutions, including plant biostimulants, recycled nutrients and other bio-based fertilising solutions, within the broader transition towards a more resilient and circular EU fertiliser system.
Plant biostimulants are already helping farmers improve nutrient uptake and utilisation, support crops under abiotic stress and maximise the value of every nutrient applied in the field. Improving nutrient use efficiency in practice means helping farmers generate more stable production and greater value from the same nutrient inputs, an increasingly important objective in today’s challenging agricultural environment.
However, while the Action Plan is a welcome signal, more ambition and faster action will be needed if Europe is serious about advancing agricultural innovation, strengthening farmers’ livelihoods and improving the long-term competitiveness of the EU agricultural sector.
The key challenge now will be ensuring that political ambition translates into practical and workable implementation. Europe’s regulatory framework must enable innovative solutions to scale rapidly in practice. This includes coherent, proportionate and science-based implementation under the Fertilising Products Regulation, alongside rapid and workable pathways for innovation.
The Action Plan also rightly recognises that improving nutrient efficiency will require action not only on supply, but also on farmer uptake. Advisory systems, nutrient management approaches, precision farming and support under the CAP will all play an important role in ensuring farmers can fully benefit from innovative solutions.
As the European Commission, Parliament and Council continue work across multiple legislative files affecting nutrient use efficiency and innovation in fertilising products, EBIC believes further efforts will be necessary to ensure Europe creates a truly enabling environment for innovation and delivers practical outcomes for farmers across the EU.
A stronger focus on nutrient efficiency is an important step forward, but Europe must now go further and faster to ensure farmers have access to the innovative tools needed to strengthen resilience, improve sustainability, and secure the future competitiveness of European agriculture.