Royal Decrees for soil protection. The Royal Decree on sustainable soil nutrition it responds to the government’s commitment to advance the rational fertilization of crops. With the strategic objective of increasing or maintaining the productivity of agricultural land. At the same time, the environmental impact of the application of fertilising products and other sources of nutrients or organic matter is reduced, in line with the objectives of the European From Farm to Fork strategy.
This law constitutes one of the reforms contemplated in the “Environmental and digital transformation of the agri-food and fisheries system” and committed by the Government under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).
Bet on nutrients
As a central element, the need to take into account all activities that provide nutrients to crops, whether intentionally or not, is established. And the possible ways they can be lost by trying to provide only the right nutrients at the right time, quantity, form and place.
This will reduce the emission of ammonia into the atmosphere, as well as greenhouse gases and will prevent water pollution from nitrates. Therefore, the Royal Decree project proposes to carry out a global approach, which makes it possible to address partial considerations of each of the different sources of nutrients and their processes in agricultural soils to optimize their use and reduce their environmental impact.
The standard establishes good fertilization practices. Such as general requirements for fertilization times, instructions regarding temporary manure stacking or restrictions on the use of urea. In addition, it establishes mitigation measures according to the type of material used and establishes the need for farmers to draw up a membership plan, as well as to have an electronic exploitation log and have technical advice for correct application of fertilizers.
The calculation of a nutrient balance stands out which allows the elaboration of such a plan, taking into account all the inputs and inputs of nutrients in the soil. MAPA will provide farmers with the necessary tools to implement some of the new obligations, such as the digital notebook or computerized subscriber recommendation programs.
Sustainable use of plant protection products
With the Royal Decree for the sustainable use of plant protection products A further step is taken in the strategy for a sustainable use of plant protection products in which Spanish agriculture has been advancing for some time. With integrated pest control as the basis for achieving the goal of reducing their impact.
This royal decree establishes the electronic exploitation book, which will make it possible to know the use of plant protection products in detail and in near real time. This detailed, detailed information will be critical to decision-making and will allow us to focus sustainable fertilizer use efforts on only those crops and farms where it is needed. This will avoid unnecessary efforts by farmers who are more aligned with this philosophy of sustainable use and integrated pest management.
This is an innovative model in Europe that will also allow farmers to determine their level of risk of use and risk of plant protection products and compare it with the average levels in the country. This information should be critical to your decision making and correcting deviations quickly. Royal Decrees for soil protection.
