An Irish farm organisation has criticised the new Fertiliser Action Plan, claiming the EU "doesn't understand the scale of the fertiliser challenge".

According to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), it is "painfully obvious that the [European] Commission does not understand the scale of the problem facing farmers and the implications of those problems", following the unveiling of the plan yesterday (Tuesday, May 19).

Denis Drennan, the ICMSA president, said that the plan "most resembled a "mix 'n' match" of previous announcements made by the commission, without "any clear idea of a possible solution".

"Farmers will be hugely disappointed with the plan and that disappointment will come to be shared by general consumers as food prices inevitably climb to reflect the lower volumes of production resulting from the lack of affordable fertiliser," he added.

“The problem could not be more clear or stark. EU farm output prices have fallen considerably since this time last year while the price of fertiliser has increased substantially," Drennan said.

The ICMSA president warned: "There are even pressing questions about the availability of fertiliser for 2027, and that’s going to ‘knock-on’ to production volumes next year and possibly expose consumers to increased imports of non-EU food produced to lower sustainability and consumer health standards."

The ICMSA criticised the reported funding to be made available by the EU.

"While the [plan] mentions “exceptional support”, there are figures set out with the sum of €400 million being bandied about. That may sound like a huge amount of funding but based on 5.9 million farmers across the EU receiving aid under the CAP, this would deliver a payment of €67 each," Drennan said.

According to the ICMSA president, the availability of fertiliser is both a short- and long-term issue, with two major market shocks - the war in Ukraine and the US-Iran conflict - since 2020.

"Farmers were expecting some decisive action in [the] plan and are disappointed that, not alone has the EU not come forward with a solution, [it doesn't] seem to have understood the scale of the fertiliser challenge or the consequences that will flow directly from that," he said.