Press release
Minister welcomes the launch of the National Fertiliser Database and encourages stakeholders to register
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
The National Fertiliser Database is live and is now open for registration of Professional Fertiliser End Users (primarily farmers and others that use fertilisers as part of their work) and Fertiliser Economic Operators (for example: importers, merchants that sell fertilisers). From 1 September anyone wishing to sell or purchase fertiliser (including lime) must be being registered.
Commenting on the launch of the National Fertiliser Database, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, said:
“The roll-out of the National Fertiliser Database is an important milestone and the culmination of a huge effort by my department together with industry stakeholders over the past eighteen months to progress the legislation, the IT infrastructure and the communications plan needed to underpin this database. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Stakeholder Consultative Committee for their constructive engagement during this process.”
From 1 September, any farmer or other Professional Fertiliser End User who wishes to purchase fertiliser, including lime, must be registered as a Professional Fertiliser End User with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This is a very straightforward and simple process whereby farmers, or their agents, can register now using www.agfood.ie. Importantly, those farmers involved in the import of fertiliser, farm to farm transfers, and/or retail sale of fertiliser must also register as Fertiliser Economic Operators on www.agfood.ie.
Also from 1 September, all fertiliser transactions along the supply chain must be recorded. This includes fertiliser dispatched from merchants’ premises to farms, moving from farm-to-farm or imported. Merchants can enter this data manually through the department’s online service www.agfood.ie or through an Application Programming Interface that facilitates automatic upload of data from retailers’ IT system directly to the National Fertiliser Database.
The Minister continued by saying:
“the National Fertiliser Database will require very little additional work for most farmers and will provide a number of benefits. Over the coming weeks my department will write to all farmers about the new requirements and department officials will also have a stand at the National Ploughing Championships where individual queries will be answered and assistance with registration will be provided.”
Details on various responsibilities, along with further information is available online at: gov.ie - National Fertiliser Database (www.gov.ie).
Queries regarding the database should be sent by email to nationalfertilisersdb@agriculture.gov.ie
The Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023 became law on 11 July 2023. This Act provides for the establishment of a National Fertiliser Database (NFD) and related provisions. The NFD will provide for accurate tracking of fertiliser sales and will assist with the regulation of the industry. This will contribute to the national targets to reduce fertiliser use and should encourage improved nutrient use efficiency.
Each farmer will be able to view and download their records from the NFD if they wish, allowing them to easily verify their compliance with voluntary schemes or regulatory limits.
The NFD will significantly reduce the existing reporting burden for farmers availing of the Nitrates Derogation. By minimising the reporting burden, the database will also benefit farmers who wish to participate in Eco-Scheme actions relating to fertiliser, or the use of lime, from 2024 onwards.
The timeline for the implementation of the provisions in the legislation is as follows.
The day on which Part 3 of the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023 came into operation.
Registration opened for Professional Fertiliser End Users (Farmers, Landscape Gardeners, sports club).
Registration opens for Fertiliser Economic Operators (manufacturers/blenders, merchants, importers).
Date from which a person registered on the National Fertiliser Database must submit information to the Minister for the purposes of section 7D (2) of the Fertilisers Feeding Stuffs and Mineral Mixtures Act 1955 and 2023.
(National Fertiliser Database Regulations Statutory Instrument No 378 of 2023 Legislative requirements on the purchase/sale/import of fertiliser come into force.
Date from which imports into the State must be notified to the National Fertiliser Database (within 72 hours of import).
Date from which all data on fertiliser transactions is to be recorded.
Declaration Date of Closing Stocks for Professional Fertiliser End Users.
Declaration Date of Closing Stocks for Fertiliser Economic Operators.
Date by which Professional Fertiliser End Users and Fertiliser Economic Operators must submit closing stocks, including NIL stock where relevant, to the National Fertiliser Database.
Date by which Fertiliser Economic Operators must submit September, October and November 2023 sales data to the National Fertiliser Database.
Date by which Fertiliser Economic Operators must submit December 2023 sales data to the National Fertiliser Database. All monthly sales data from 1 December 2023 are required to be submitted by the 15th of the subsequent month.
Note: As a transitional measure to facilitate IT development by fertiliser retailers, the September, October and November 2023 sales data must be returned by 15 December 2023 but from 1 December 2023, monthly data must be uploaded to the database by the 15th day of the subsequent month.