ECOFI launches its Manifesto to strengthen the circular economy in organic fertilizer production

Chiara Manoli, President of ECOFI and Regulatory Affairs Manager at ILSA, explains that the main goal of the Manifesto is to promote greater attention to circularity in the new European regulations governing the organic fertilizer sector, as well as to highlight their role in soil health and the creation of sustainable food systems.

(Arzignano, Vicenza, Italy) - Chiara Manoli, Regulatory Affairs Manager at ILSA, has been presiding over the European Consortium of the Organic-Based Fertilizer Industry (ECOFI) for two and a half years. Holding a master's degree in Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Manoli began her career at ILSA in 2010 and has always combined her internal activities with european public affairs. Initially, as a company expert, she supported the European Biostimulants Industry Council (EBIC) in discussing technical positions for the definition and regulatory framework of biostimulant products. Later, as a representative of ECOFI, she participated in the fertilizer working group of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs (DG Grow), aiming to ensure an adequate regulatory framework for organic and organo-mineral fertilizers.

“ILSA has always believed in the importance of maintaining close contacts with European officials, providing them with accurate, timely, and transparent information on sector research and innovation to foster the development of legislation in harmony with product innovation,” Manoli emphasizes. Today, in her second term as president of ECOFI (ed. she was re-elected in January 2024), she represents the demands of the leading European organic fertilizer producers summarized in the ECOFI Manifesto, which sees changes at the top of the European Union as both an opportunity and a risk.

“Europe's goals in terms of agriculture, circularity, and sustainability are undoubtedly ambitious, but they must be properly articulated to avoid placing farmers and industry companies in a position where they have to meet regulatory requirements that are currently unattainable. This would only result in an inevitable competitive disadvantage compared to non-European countries. European agriculture is synonymous with quality and safety, and these values are recognized worldwide. We must therefore continue to promote these high production standards without falling into administrative and bureaucratic burdens so stringent as to jeopardize the entire primary sector.”

The current regulatory barriers, such as those limiting the use of raw materials like animal by-products for organic fertilizers, prevent the full realization of a circular European economy in this sector. ECOFI calls on the European Parliament and the European Commission to place innovation in circularity at the centre of their work plan for 2024-2029.

Founded in 2014, ECOFI serves as a meeting point for companies producing organic fertilizers (both for organic and non-organic farming), organo-mineral fertilizers, and organic soil amendments, as well as for companies supplying their raw materials and intermediates. The consortium is recognized by the European Commission as the authorized representative of the organic-based fertilizer industry and as an official liaison organization to the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). ECOFI participates alongside member states in the European Commission's expert group on fertilizer products (CEG-FP), which helps implement and review the EU Fertilizers Regulation (FPR) 2019/1009.