European data from Eurostat shows that the Netherlands lags far behind other EU countries in the field of organic farming. Although the Netherlands claims to want to promote this nature-friendly form of food production, there is hardly any growth. In the Netherlands, only about 4 percent of agricultural land is organic.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to organic farming for the climate. Because artificial fertilizers are not used, emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide are significantly lower. However, due to extra mechanical weed control, CO2 emissions are higher again. More expensive gas and fertilizer lead to less demand and usage.
Further Eurostat data shows that the European boycott from 2022 against the import of Russian gas led to sharply higher gas prices and, consequently, much more expensive fertilizer. That year, European agriculture used considerably fewer mineral fertilizers.
There was a decrease of more than ten percent, bringing total usage to 9.8 million tons. The largest drop occurred with phosphate fertilizers, which declined by 17.9%. France, Spain, Italy, and Romania were the largest users of phosphate fertilizers, together accounting for about half of the EU total.
A similar trend was observed in the Netherlands. In 2022, the Dutch agricultural sector experienced a significant decrease in the use of both nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers. This was driven not only by rising prices but also by stricter environmental regulations and an increasing focus on sustainability.