The objective is a rational fertilization of crops for productive and environmental sustainability.
This new regulation responds to the executive’s commitment to advance the rational fertilization of crops, with the strategic objective of increasing or maintaining the productivity of agricultural soils. / Archive
Valencia Fruits. Editorial staff.
On August 27, at the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Council of Ministers approved a royal decree that incorporates new regulations and the simplification of some measures of the royal decree on sustainable nutrition of agricultural soils of December 27, 2022.
This new regulation responds to the government’s commitment to advance the rational fertilisation of crops, with the strategic objective of increasing or maintaining the productivity of agricultural soils. At the same time, it seeks to reduce the environmental impact of the application of fertilisers and other sources of nutrients or organic matter, in line with the objectives of the European strategy “From Farm to Table”.
After more than a year of application, the reform of the Royal Decree on sustainable nutrition of agricultural soils seeks to facilitate the implementation of certain technical aspects, reinforce coherence with other regulations (such as the Law on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy), or sectoral regional provisions and clarify certain provisions. To this end, the articles relating to the operating notebook, the fertilisation plan and the use of manure and organic fertilisers are modified.
Specifically, certain incentives are included for the use of the digital notebook, since it will not be mandatory, and the information of the fertilization plan that must be included in the operating notebook is detailed, one of the key points of which is the determination of the dose.
In addition to incorporating clearer wording of the provisions relating to the reduction of ammonia emissions, other technologies are taken into account that can reduce the risk of leaching (extraction of a substance from a solid material).
Furthermore, the obligations related to the use of manure, fertilizers and other organic materials are made more flexible, new wastes are added to the list of those that are accepted and their requirements are modified, always in line with the market and the stipulated criteria of safety and agronomic effectiveness.
In this regard, the extension of the period during which manure stacking is permitted from 5 to 10 days is noteworthy, which can reach 20 days in the case of composted or digested material. The period for burying manure and other organic materials is also extended to 24 hours.
These last two issues are part of the 43 measures approved by the Government to support the agricultural sector to improve the situation of farmers and ranchers, agreed with the organizations Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers (UPA) and Union of Farmers and Ranchers Unions.
Rational soil fertilization is not only important for improving the environmental performance of agriculture, but is also essential for the efficiency and profitability of agriculture in a context of high fertilizer prices.
Xylella fastidiosa
The Department of Agriculture, Water, Livestock and Fisheries of the Generalitat Valenciana has established the new bases for aid for the replanting of fruit plots with crops destroyed as a result of the adoption of measures to prevent the spread of the quarantine bacteria Xyella fastidiosa. The document, which was published in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana on July 31, contains all the information necessary to benefit from this measure.
Since the previous order of bases was planned for the period 2021-2023, a new one has been issued with a general character and vocation of permanence, without temporal link to the validity of the strategic plan of subsidies of the Ministry. In this way, it seeks to assist replanting operations with specified plants not susceptible to the multiplex subspecies of Xylella fastidiosa, or specified plants susceptible to the multiplex subspecies that appear on an approved list.
According to the bases, replanting operations must be carried out in fruit plots whose surface, totally or partially, is located in the infected zone of the demarcated area of Xylella fastidiosa subspecies multiplex, or in fruit plots whose crop has been destroyed in accordance with the phytosanitary eradication and control measures established by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1201 of 14 August 2020.
The eligible actions are summarised in operations aimed at planting crops, either on one’s own account or on behalf of others. As a complementary action, the installation of an irrigation system located inside the plots to be replanted is contemplated.
