Europe’s farmers are cranking up the pressure on the European Commission to fast-track measures to combat surging fertiliser costs.
IFA president Francie Gorman will travel to Strasbourg on Tuesday to take part in a COPA action which is demanding an urgent response by the European Commission to the fertiliser crisis.
Gorman, who is a vice-president of COPA, will join other farm leaders from across Europe to put pressure on the Commission on the issue.
The Commission is due to publish its long-awaited Fertiliser Action Plan this week, but there are growing fears that it will be of little benefit for farmers.
The IFA has questioned the effectiveness of any Commission proposals that fail to remove the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
“To consider publishing a Fertiliser Action Plan and not address CBAM is quite incredible. One would have to question if the Commission has any interest at all in addressing the price or availability of fertiliser across the EU,” Gorman claimed.
“We estimate that CBAM will cost EU farmers almost €900m in 2026. The Commission imposed this tax on farmers and has refused to reverse course despite the price of fertiliser more or less doubling in price,” he pointed out.
“Based on leaked versions of what will be announced tomorrow [Tuesday], the Commission will do absolutely nothing to address either the availability or price of fertiliser,” he added.
“It’s hard to overstate how far off the pace the EU Commission is when it comes to the fertiliser issue in Ireland and across the EU. It’s inexplicable that this is not getting the attention it should be getting,” Gorman said.
“Fertiliser is a critical raw material in the production of crops. Without it we would face massive food shortages across Europe and beyond. It’s about time the Commission woke up, realised this, and immediately suspended CBAM on fertiliser.”
Some EU countries have acted unilaterally on farm input costs.
The Greek government has implemented a 15% subsidy on fertiliser purchases for what are described as “professional farmers” and “agricultural legal entities”.
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