Reconciling farming and air quality

European farms are essential in providing quality food that can sustain life on this planet today and in the future. However, agricultural activities also impact environment. For example, agriculture is responsible for 92% of ammonia emissions that impact air quality in Europe and 17% of these emissions derive from the use of nitrogen fertilizers.

Ammonia emissions have both impacts on human health (contribution to the formation of particulate matter in the atmosphere) and on environment (acid deposition and eutrophication). It is since the late 1970s that cleaner air has been one of the key environmental policy priorities in Europe. The European Commission has recently published the “First Clean Air Outlook” which identifies the efforts needed in the run up to 2030 to solve i.e. the challenge of ammonia emissions from agriculture.

The farming sector experiences mounting pressure to deliver on these environmental challenges. The fertilizer industry strives to support farmers to address these challenges by providing them with better products and know-how that can support them in improving air quality while remaining economically viable.

Solutions are already available. Good fertilization practices can help farmers make optimal decisions to improve resource efficiency and consequently reduce ammonia emissions.

Good practices for optimal use of mineral fertilizers

There are already several, well-known good agricultural practices, which European farmers can implement to minimize ammonia losses.