Fertiliser sales have grown by 25 per cent despite efforts to reduce usage on farms to combat climate change, according to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture.
The figures reveal that sales of compound fertilisers increased by 20 per cent this season, while straight fertiliser purchases grew by more than 30 per cent.
Between October 2020 and March this year farmers purchased 934,000t of fertilisers, an increase of 186,000t compared with the same period in 2019-20.
Farmers usually purchase the majority of their fertiliser during the first three months of the year, with around 75 per cent used by the end of March.
However, the Government wants to reduce nitrogen fertiliser on Irish farms from 408,000t in 2018 to 325,000t by 2030.
Uptake of ‘environmentally friendly fertiliser remains slow and has not been aided by farmers’ perception that it is expensive.
Farmers are understood to have bought fertiliser stocks during winter in a bid to avoid spring price increases.
Environmental groups are expected to call for enhance curbs on fertiliser usage a farm level following the increased sales.
LSL News.