World Fertilizer Day is celebrated on Tuesday, October 13, commemorating the importance of the innovative Haber-Bosch process, which enabled the large-scale production of nitrogen fertilizers, thereby driving more efficient agriculture and increased global food production. More than a century after that milestone, fertilizers remain essential to humanity.

This day of celebration highlights the value of mineral fertilizers as the primary source of essential nutrients for crops. It is estimated that approximately 50% of global food production relies on the use of mineral fertilizers. Their contribution helps sustain productive and competitive agriculture and enables the production of more and higher-quality food on existing farmland, thereby avoiding the need to convert new natural areas into agricultural land to feed a growing population.

The fertilizer sector faces a landscape shaped by severe geopolitical tensions, price volatility, and high energy costs. Against this backdrop, the European Union and the Spanish Government are promoting measures to bolster the availability and affordability of fertilizers while simultaneously advancing decarbonization. The industry is developing new technologies, higher-efficiency products, and production processes with a reduced environmental footprint to address the major challenges facing the agri-food supply chain.

The National Association of Fertilizer Manufacturers (ANFFE) highlights that the main challenge is ensuring the availability of fertilizers, maintaining the industry's competitiveness and sustainability, and strengthening our strategic autonomy. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of promoting increasingly efficient and sustainable product use, which requires supplying the right nutrients in the correct form, quantity, location, and timing.

On this World Day, ANFFE emphasizes that fertilizers will continue to play a fundamental role in meeting the challenge of producing sufficient and affordable food, while simultaneously advancing towards more efficient and sustainable agriculture.