Agriculture, and in particular livestock, uses nutrients inefficiently, contributing to water and air pollution and global warming. One of the objectives of the Green Deal of the European Commission (EC), through the Farm to Fork strategy, is the reduction of nutrient losses by at least 50% while ensuring the soil fertility. The EC expects that this will reduce the use of fertilisers by at least 20% by 2030. Integrated nutrient management plans will be developed by Member States with the objective of reducing and preventing further pollution from excessive use of fertilisers, while encouraging nutrient recycling from organic waste as fertilisers. At the same time, the EC encourages increasing information to consumers through harmonised labelling and establishes targets to reduce food waste.
Circular Agronomics aims to convert agriculture into a more circular and sustainable sector through short- and long-term measures from practical innovations to costumer awareness and facilitating legislation. With many of the developed innovative solutions a significant reduction of nitrogen emissions, in particular ammonia (NH3), was achieved. Besides, the harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) nitrous oxide (N2O, almost 300 times the Global Warming Potential as carbon dioxide over 100 years) was reduced significantly (e.g. >75 % due to fertiliser reduction in the trials with N efficient genotypes of winter wheat). Results are very promising for a transition to an environment- and climate-friendly agriculture, when farmers are able to invest in such innovations and build up the necessary knowledge. At the same time, consumers need transparent product labelling to make the right decision based on their norms.