A study by the Joint Research Centre concludes that agricultural digestates could partially replace mineral fertilisers, especially in livestock areas, following a 40% rise in nitrogen prices between December 2025 and April 2026.
Agricultural digestates —the residues left after anaerobic digestion of organic materials such as livestock manure, crops or food waste— are rich in nutrients for soil and plants and could partially replace mineral fertilisers in the European Union, especially in areas with high livestock concentrations. That is the conclusion of a new study by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), compiled with a group of international experts.
The Middle East crisis has disrupted global fertiliser markets and driven up energy and fertiliser prices, with a direct impact on farm profitability and competitiveness. Between December 2025 and April 2026, EU nitrogen fertiliser prices rose a further 40%, after costs were already 62% higher than in 2020. The Gulf region accounts for 43% of global urea exports and 27% of ammonia exports, leaving European farmers exposed to supply disruptions.
The study —entitled "Overview of key considerations for the safe application of agricultural digestates as fertilising materials under various conditions"— concludes that digestates, particularly certain liquid fractions obtained through centrifugation, offer a viable way to partially replace mineral fertilisers without compromising agricultural productivity or environmental safeguards. Digestates with a low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and high mineral nitrogen content perform agronomically in a similar way to synthetic fertilisers.
The JRC warns that environmental risks, including ammonia emissions and nitrate leaching, must be managed through suitable feedstock selection, processing technologies, storage practices and precise field application.
The findings support the Fertiliser Action Plan published in May 2026, in which the Commission indicated that it would explore whether digestates currently outside the RENURE (recovered nitrogen from manure) criteria, especially liquid fractions, could be included in their scope. If so, up to an additional 80 kg N/ha/year could be applied above the standard 170 kg N/ha/year ceiling for traditional animal manure in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones.
The JRC noted that the EU Livestock Strategy (July 2026) reinforced the urgency of this avenue. The evaluation of the Nitrates Directive (July 2026) concluded that the directive is compatible with expanding biogas production in the EU, which opens up an opportunity for greater circularity in the use of digestates as organic fertilisers. The EU Bioeconomy Strategy (November 2025), for its part, recognises biofertilisers as a lead market with high potential for economic growth and environmental benefits.
Safeguards —including measures to prevent ammonia volatilisation, controls on contaminants and phosphorus application limits— would keep expanded use compatible with the Nitrates Directive and with the rest of EU environmental and health legislation. According to the JRC, broader recognition of digestates as RENURE-like fertilisers would reduce the EU's dependence on imported mineral nutrients, lower farming costs in livestock-intensive regions and support circular economy goals, making European agriculture more resilient to global market volatility.
