The conference addressed the new European regulation on the fertiliser market that will come into force on 16 July
- The Fertiberia Chair of Agri-environmental Studies at the Polytechnic University of Madrid has held a new conference for debate and reflection, entitled 'Fertilisation for sustainable agriculture', in which the effects and practical implications of European Regulation 2019/1009 were analysed.
- The regulation, which will come into force on 16 July, regulates fundamental aspects of the fertiliser market in order to move towards sustainability and a circular economy in the sector.
The conference was inaugurated by the Director General of Agricultural Productions and Markets of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Esperanza Orellana, and the Director of the School of Agricultural, Food and Biosystems Engineering of Madrid, Juan Manuel Palacios, and the President of Grupo Fertiberia, Javier Goñi.
Also taking part in the conference were Javier González, director of Agronomic Innovation at Fertiberia, who spoke about the company's strategy, which has positioned sustainability as a model for the future to lead the European green fertiliser market. Other speakers included Yago Delgado de Robles, technical director of the National Association of Fertiliser Manufacturers (Anffe), who spoke about the latest developments in fertiliser labelling; Rosa Cepas, head of the agri-food sector of the Spanish Association for Standardisation (UNE), who spoke about the development of harmonised standards in the CE marking of fertilisers; Bibiana Rodríguez, assistant deputy director of the Ministry's Deputy General Directorate of Agricultural Production Means and Spanish Plant Varieties Office, who discussed the main amendments to the regulation; and Pilar Pérez, from the Agri-Food and GLP department of the Spanish Accreditation Entity, who addressed conformity assessment and the procedure for applying the standard.
After a colloquium in which all the guests took part, the closing session was led by the director of the Fertiberia Chair of Agri-environmental Studies, Augusto Arce.
More than 170 attendees, including representatives of administrations, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), national and regional research institutes and agricultural associations, as well as farmers, researchers, students and university professors, attended the event, which could be followed both in person and virtually.
With the organisation of this meeting, Grupo Fertiberia reinforces its commitment to agronomic innovation for the production of high added value plant nutrition solutions, also from the academic sphere. The conference held on 21 April is now in its thirteenth year, bringing together technicians and experts from the sector, as well as professionals from research centres and public administrations.
Through the Chair of Agri-environmental Studies, established in 2007 to promote research in the field of fertilisation and the development of sustainable agriculture, Grupo Fertiberia carries out a wide range of actions such as promoting R&D&I projects, sponsoring specific studies, organising dissemination and diffusion activities, and collaborating in training programmes for UPM students, among others. One of the initiatives with the most projection is the annual edition of the Awards that recognise the best Bachelor's and Master's degree final projects, showing their support for the talent and research of young people.
